On the causal effect of religiosity on life satisfaction using a propensity score matching technique

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (10) ◽  
pp. 1031-1048 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Zotti ◽  
Nino Speziale ◽  
Cristian Barra
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Propensity Score ◽  
Propensity Score Matching ◽  
Religious Identity ◽  
Causal Effect ◽  
Religious Involvement ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Causal Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of religious involvement on subjective well-being (SWB), specifically taking into account the implication of selection effects explaining religious influence using the British Household Panel Survey data set. Design/methodology/approach In order to measure the level of religious involvement, the authors construct different indices on the base of individual religious belonging, participation and beliefs applying a propensity score matching estimator. Findings The results show that religious active participation plays a relevant role among the different aspects of religiosity; moreover, having a strong religious identity such as, at the same time, belonging to any religion, attending religious services once a week or more and believing that religion makes a great difference in life, has a high causal impact on SWB. The authors’ findings are robust to different aspects of life satisfaction. Originality/value The authors offer an econometric account of the causal impact of different aspects of religiosity finding evidence that the causal effect of religious involvement on SWB is better captured than through typical regression methodologies focussing on the mean effects of the explanatory variables.

Minimum wage impacts on wages, employment and hours in China

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Yang ◽  
Morley Gunderson
Keyword(s):  
Propensity Score ◽  
Propensity Score Matching ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Causal Effect ◽  
Employment Effect ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cost Increase ◽  
Hours Of Work ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
The Cost

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to estimate the causal effect of minimum wages (MWs) on the wages, employment and hours of migrant workers in China, and to show their inter-relatedness and how employers can offset some of the costs through subtle adjustments. This paper also illustrates the importance of disaggregating by region and sex. Design/methodology/approach Causal estimates are provided through difference-in-differences (DID) analysis, and robustness checks through propensity score matching. The analysis is based on micro data at the individual level from the household survey on migrant workers by the National Population and Family Planning Commission, combined with macro data regarding municipalities’ population, GDP and employment information based on the China Economic Information Network database. Findings MW increases for those paid by the month increased the earnings of both low-wage males and females. However, males tend not to experience an adverse employment effect because part of the cost increase is offset by employers increasing their monthly hours of work. Hours of work do not increase for females, so they experience an adverse employment effect. This highlights the importance of examining cost offsets such as increases in hours of work, as well as analyzing effects separately for males and females. Research limitations/implications The reason behind why employers offset some of the cost increase for males paid by the month by increasing their hours of work, but this cost-offsetting adjustment does not occur for females is uncertain. Social implications For workers paid by the month, employers can offset some of the cost increase by increasing their hours of work, leading to no reductions in employment. But this adjustment occurs only for males. Hours are not increased for females, but they experience reductions in employment. Clearly, MW increases have adverse effects either in the form of employment reductions (for females) or increases in hours of work for the same monthly pay (for males). Originality/value This paper provides causal estimates through DID analysis and robustness checks through Propensity Score Matching, and also indicates how employers can offset the cost of MW increases by increasing hours for those paid by the month, resulting in no adverse employment effect for such workers, but an adverse employment effect when such an adjustment does not occur.

Hedonic value and crowdfunding project performance: a propensity score matching-based analysis

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liang Zhao ◽  
Tsvi Vinig
Keyword(s):  
Propensity Score ◽  
Propensity Score Matching ◽  
Real Data ◽  
Project Performance ◽  
Probit Regression ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Hedonic Value ◽  
Utilitarian Value ◽  
The Impact

Purpose In the existing literature on crowdfunding project performance, previous studies have given little attention to the impact of investors’ hedonic value and utilitarian value on project results. In a crowdfunding setting, utilitarian value is somehow hard to satisfy due to information asymmetry and adverse selection problem. Therefore, the projects with more hedonic value can be more attractive for potential investors. Lucky draw is a method to increase consumer hedonic value, and it can influence investors’ behavior as a result. The authors hypothesize that projects with hedonic treatment (lucky draw) may have higher probability to win their campaign than others. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach A unique self-extracted two-year Chinese crowdfunding platform real data set has been applied as the analysis sample. The authors first employ propensity score matching methods to control for the endogeneity of hedonic treatment adoption (lucky draw). The authors then run OLS regression and probit regression in order to test the hypotheses. Findings The analysis suggests a significant positive relationship not only between project lottery adoption and project results but also between project lottery adoption and project popularity. Originality/value The results suggest that an often ignored factor – hedonic treatment (lucky draw) – can play an important role in crowdfunding project performance.

Does the Starbucks effect exist? Searching for a relationship between Starbucks and adjacent rents

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 562-578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Herman Donner ◽  
Tracy Hadden Loh
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Propensity Score ◽  
Propensity Score Matching ◽  
Strong Association ◽  
Percent Level ◽  
Coffee Shop ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sectional Model

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to test the popular perception that the storefront location choices of premium brands are positively related to adjacent rents. Focusing on the case of Starbucks, a popular international coffee chain, the authors examine the association between Starbucks locations and rents in Manhattan, New York. Design/methodology/approach The authors use a multi-year data set for average rent per square foot for office and multifamily residential properties within 1/10th of a mile of several hundred coffee shop locations in Manhattan, controlling for vacancy, job density, overall amenity density (WalkScore), coffee shop density, transit accessibility, neighborhood and the Starbucks brand. The authors take two different methodological approaches to isolate potential statistical evidence for an association between Starbucks locations and adjacent rents: the authors run a pooled-cross-sectional model and apply propensity-score matching. Findings The authors find a statistically significant positive relationship between the presence of Starbucks and average office rents when applying the authors’ pooled-cross-sectional model and applying propensity-score matching. This finding is consistent with several potential causal hypotheses: Starbucks may be attributed to higher rent office locations; the “Starbucks effect” may cause higher rents in adjacent locations; or there may be a mutual reinforcing of positive feedback between Starbucks locations and office rents. The authors find no strong association between Starbucks and residential rents (one model indicates an effect of 2.3 percent on residential rent at 10 percent level of significance), which challenges the direct linearity of the consumption theory of gentrification popularly called the “Starbucks effect.” Originality/value In the literature, the existence, causality and directionality of a relationship between Starbucks locations and neighborhood change have been largely unstudied. In this paper, the authors test the hypothesis that there is a positive correlation between Starbucks locations and rents.

scholarly journals The Effects of Employment on Depression and Life Satisfaction Among Old-Aged Using the DD Method Combined With PSM

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 408-408
Author(s):  
Si Young Song ◽  
Hey Jung Jun ◽  
Sun Ah Lee
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Propensity Score ◽  
Propensity Score Matching ◽  
Multiple Regression ◽  
Propensity Scores ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Double Difference ◽  
Combined Model ◽  
Comparative Group ◽  
Experimental Group

Abstract The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of employment on depression and life satisfaction among old-aged. Using 12th (2017) wave and 13th (2018) wave of Korean Welfare Panel Study (KoWePS), three stages of analyses were conducted. First, through propensity score matching (PSM) method, sample with similar propensity scores was matched between the group that did not work in 12th wave but worked in 13th wave (experimental group, N=180), and the group that did not work in 12th and 13th wave (comparative group, N=180). Second, the matched sample was used to conduct multiple regression analysis with the group dummy variable (experimental group, comparative group) as an independent variable, and depression and life satisfaction as the dependent variables. Third, combined model of propensity score matching (PSM) and double difference (DD) method was conducted to more appropriately derive the net effect of employment. The results of multiple regression after propensity matching showed that employment had a positive effect on reducing depression (B= -1.70, p< .01) and increasing life satisfaction (B= .12, p< .01) in old-aged. Furthermore, in combined model of PSM and DD, life satisfaction was improved when employed compared to non-employed (B= .15, p< .05). The results of this study are meaningful in that the meaning of employment in old-aged is more clearly derived by solving selection bias and endogenous problems. Also, this study may provide reference for establishing welfare policies related to employment among old-aged.

Do the heterogeneous determinants of life satisfaction affect differently across borrowers of diverse credit sources? A propensity score approach

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (8) ◽  
pp. 1142-1158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiken Das ◽  
Manesh Choubey
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Propensity Score ◽  
Probit Model ◽  
Ordered Probit ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Ordered Probit Model ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Credit Access ◽  
Physical Assets

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the non-monetary effect of credit access by providing an econometric framework which controls the problem of selection bias. Design/methodology/approach The study is conducted in Assam, India and uses a quasi-experiment design to gather primary data. The ordered probit model is used to evaluate the non-monetary impact of credit access. The paper uses a propensity score approach to check the robustness of the ordered probit model. Findings The study confirms the positive association of credit access to life satisfaction of borrowers. It is found that, in general, rural borrower’s life satisfaction is influenced by the ability and capacity to work, the value of physical assets of the borrowers as well as some other lenders’ and borrowers’ specific factors. But, the direction of causality of the factors influencing borrowers’ life satisfaction is remarkably different across credit sources. Research limitations/implications The study argues to provide productive investment opportunities to semiformal and informal borrowers while improving their life satisfaction score. Although the results are adjusted for selection and survivorship biases, it is impossible with the available data to assess which non-income factors explain the findings, and therefore this limitation is left to future research. Originality/value The study contributes to the literature of rural credit by assessing the probable differences among formal, semiformal and informal credit sources with respect to non-monetary impacts.

scholarly journals Identifying the causal effect of child marriage on unmet needs for modern contraception and unintended pregnancy in Nepal: a cross-sectional study using propensity score matching

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. e043532
Author(s):  
Kazutaka Sekine ◽  
Rogie Royce Carandang ◽  
Ken Ing Cherng Ong ◽  
Anand Tamang ◽  
Masamine Jimba
Keyword(s):  
Propensity Score ◽  
Propensity Score Matching ◽  
Unintended Pregnancy ◽  
Unmet Needs ◽  
Causal Effect ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Child Marriage ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Marginal Population ◽  
Modern Contraception

ObjectivesThis study aimed to investigate whether child marriage had causal effects on unmet needs for modern contraception, and unintended pregnancy, by estimating the marginal (population-averaged) treatment effect of child marriage.DesignThis study used secondary data from the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2016. Applying one-to-one nearest-neighbour matching with replacement within a calliper range of ±0.01, 15–49 years old women married before the age of 18 were matched with similar women who were married at 18 or above to reduce selection bias.SettingNationally representative population survey data.ParticipantsThe sample consisted of 7833 women aged 15–49 years who were married for more than 5 years.Outcome measuresUnmet needs for modern contraception and unintended pregnancy.ResultsThe matching method achieved adequate overlap in the propensity score distributions and balance in measured covariates between treatment and control groups with the same propensity score. Propensity score matching analysis showed that the risk of unmet needs for modern contraception, and unintended pregnancy among women married as children were a 14.3 percentage point (95 % CI 10.3 to 18.2) and a 10.1 percentage point (95 % CI 3.7 to 16.4) higher, respectively, than among women married as adults. Sensitivity analysis indicated that the estimated effects were robust to unmeasured covariates.ConclusionsChild marriage appears to increase the risk of unmet needs for modern contraception and unintended pregnancy. These findings call for social development and public health programmes that promote delayed entry into marriage and childbearing to improve reproductive health and rights.

Appraisals matter: relationships between entrepreneurs' stress appraisals and venture-based outcomes

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew A. Bennett ◽  
Stephen E. Lanivich ◽  
M. Mahdi Moeini Gharagozloo ◽  
Yusuf Akbulut
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Business Growth ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mixed Methods Approach ◽  
Methodological Triangulation ◽  
Stress Appraisals ◽  
Challenge Stress ◽  
Hindrance Stress ◽  
Qualitative Exploration

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate how stress appraisals (i.e. cognitive evaluations) influence entrepreneurial outcomes like expected financial well-being, life satisfaction, business growth and exit intentions.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses a mixed-methods approach to provide methodological triangulation by analyzing data from two independent samples (qualitative data from 100 entrepreneurs in Study 1; quantitative regression analysis of a sample of 142 entrepreneurs in Study 2).FindingsResults from the qualitative exploration (Study 1) show that entrepreneurs appraised venture-related stressors differently as a challenge, threat or hindrance. The quantitative study (Study 2) found that challenge stress appraisals were positively related to expected financial well-being and expected life satisfaction, threat stress appraisals were negatively related to expected financial well-being and positively related to business exit intentions, and hindrance stress appraisals were positively related to expected business growth and negatively related to business exit intentions.Originality/valueMost entrepreneurship research focuses on stressors rather than appraisals of the stressor. Drawing upon the transactional theory of stress that explains how stress appraisals are an important consideration for understanding the stress process, these two studies showed that stress appraisals differ for each entrepreneur (Study 1) and that stress appraisals explain more variance in many entrepreneurial outcomes than stressors (Study 2).

A “crescendo” model: designing food experiences for psychological well-being

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lia Zarantonello ◽  
Silvia Grappi ◽  
Marcello Formisano ◽  
Bernd H. Schmitt
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Perceived Life Satisfaction ◽  
Consumer Experiences ◽  
Mind Set ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose This paper aims to advance the design-thinking approach in food from an engineering mind-set toward a positive psychology perspective by investigating how consumer experiences evoked by food-related activities can facilitate, stimulate and enhance individuals’ happiness and perceptions of life satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach A diary field experiment was conducted. Participants from a major European city were asked to reflect on their food-related activities, provide descriptions and answer questions on experiential stimulation derived from these activities in relation to happiness and perceived life satisfaction. Findings Food-related activities generally result in positive consumer experiences and psychological well-being. Experiential stimulation resulting from food activities is positively related to perceived life satisfaction directly and indirectly via pleasure and meaning. Although the authors found an overall positive relationship between these constructs, they also found differences based on the experience type considered. A “crescendo model” of experiences that details how experiences lead to happiness and perceived life satisfaction is presented. Research limitations/implications This study is largely exploratory. Future research should adopt an experimental approach and further test the relationship between experiential stimulation, happiness and perceived life satisfaction in the context of food. Practical implications The paper offers innovation teams in food companies a practical “crescendo model” that can be used to design product–consumer interactions. Originality/value The research bridges literatures on design thinking, psychological well-being and consumer experiences. By studying the relationship between experiences, happiness and perceived life satisfaction in the context of food, the findings contribute to research on food well-being by expanding the notion of happiness seen only as pleasure. The research also contributes to work on design thinking by offering an experiential framework that contributes to the notion of consumer empathy.

Drivers for voluntary intellectual capital reporting based on agency theory

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 264-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viktoria Goebel
Keyword(s):  
Propensity Score ◽  
Agency Theory ◽  
Propensity Score Matching ◽  
Intellectual Capital ◽  
Integrated Reporting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Management Report

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the drivers for voluntary intellectual capital (IC) reporting based on agency theory. This study responds to calls for critical investigations of IC reporting utilising Goebel’s (2015a) IC measuring approach to investigate the role of IC value and mispricing for IC reporting.Design/methodology/approachA mandatory management report offers a unique research setting in Germany. The content analysis results of 428 German management reports are used in a regression analysis with leverage, ownership diffusion, IC value and mispricing. Additionally, a propensity score matching approach examines the relationship between IC reporting and IC value.FindingsThe regression results show that companies use voluntary IC reporting to encounter mispricing. IC reporting is negatively associated with leverage, whereas ownership diffusion and IC value show no significant results. The propensity score matching approach is also not significant.Research limitations/implicationsThis study contributes to strengthening and testing agency theory for IC reporting. As mispricing is identified to play an important role for IC reporting, IC research should account for mispricing.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest to reopen a discussion on the declared aims of the German management report and the international integrated reporting model to provide information on value creation, as IC value shows no link to IC reporting.Originality/valueThis study innovatively links IC reporting to IC value and mispricing to investigate drivers for voluntary IC reporting.

A revision of Hofstede’s model of national culture: old evidence and new data from 56 countries

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Minkov
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Differences ◽  
National Culture ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Internal Reliability ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Gender Egalitarianism ◽  
Fifth Dimension ◽  
National Differences

PurposeHofstede’s model of national culture has enjoyed enormous popularity but rests partly on faith. It has never been fully replicated and its predictive properties have been challenged. The purpose of this paper is to provide a test of the model’s coherence and utility.Design/methodology/approachAnalyses of secondary data, including the World Values Survey, and a new survey across 56 countries represented by nearly 53,000 probabilistically selected respondents.FindingsImproved operationalizations of individualism-collectivism (IDV-COLL) suggest it is a robust dimension of national culture. A modern IDV-COLL index supersedes Hofstede’s 50 year-old original one. Power distance (PD) seems to be a logical facet of IDV-COLL, rather than an independent dimension. Uncertainty avoidance (UA) lacks internal reliability. Approval of restrictive societal rules and laws is a facet of COLL and is not associated with national anxiety or neuroticism. UA is not a predictor of any of its presumed main correlates: importance of job security, preference for a safe job, trust, racism and xenophobia, subjective well-being, innovation, and economic freedom. The dimension of masculinity-femininity (MAS-FEM) lacks coherence. MAS and FEM job goals and broader values are correlated positively, not negatively, and are not related to the MAS-FEM index. MAS-FEM is not a predictor of any of its presumed main correlates: achievement and competition orientation, help and compassion, preference for a workplace with likeable people, work orientation, religiousness, gender egalitarianism, foreign aid. After a radical reconceptualization and a new operationalization, the so-called “fifth dimension” (CWD or long-term orientation) becomes more coherent and useful. The new version, called flexibility-monumentalism (FLX-MON), explains the cultural differences between East Asian Confucian societies at one extreme and Latin America plus Africa at the other, and is the best predictor of national differences in educational achievement.Research limitations/implicationsDifferences between subsidiaries of a multinational company, such as IBM around 1970, are not necessarily a good source of knowledge about broad cultural differences. A model of national culture must be validated across a large number of countries from all continents and its predictions should withstand various plausible controls. Much of Hofstede’s model (UA, MAS-FEM) fails this test while the remaining part (IDV-COLL, PD, LTO) needs a serious revision.Practical implicationsConsultancies and business schools still teach Hofstede’s model uncritically. They need to be aware of its deficiencies.Originality/valueAs UA and MAS-FEM are apparently misleading artifacts of Hofstede’s IBM data set, a thorough revision of Hofstede’s model is proposed, reducing it to two dimensions: IDV-COLL and FLX-MON.

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