Cross-national Variation in E-retail Spending: Longitudinal Country-Level Data Evidence

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 (1) ◽  
pp. 12545
Author(s):  
Nir B Kshetri ◽  
Ralf Bebenroth ◽  
Nick Williamson
2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Dierckens ◽  
B De Clercq ◽  
B Deforche

Abstract Background culture is believed to have an important impact on health and health inequalities and this may vary between countries. Empirical data are however scarce, especially in adolescent populations. We examined the impact of cultural values (emancipatory values index) on cross-national variations in adolescent health, health inequalities and evolutions in these inequalities. Methods individual-level data from 21 countries participating in the 2002/2006/2010/2014 waves of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study were combined with country-level data from the World Values Longitudinal Dataset (n = 416777). Multilevel linear and logistic regression analyses were performed accounting for the hierarchical data structure (individual, country-year and country level). Results cultural value differences between countries were weakly related to adolescents’ health and health behaviour but had a profound impact on the magnitude of inequalities. In countries characterised by a high level of emancipatory values, material (family affluence-based) inequalities in both health and health behaviours tended to be lower whereas non-material (occupational social class-based) inequalities tended to be higher, in particular for health behaviours. Preliminary results also indicated that cultural value differences between countries may play a significant role in the evolution of adolescent health inequalities. Conclusions our findings suggest that between-countries’ cultural value differences may partly explain cross-national variations in adolescents’ health inequalities and in the evolution of these inequalities. By identifying cultural value differences in health, health inequalities and evolutions in health inequalities, this study helps informing policies better to tackle these inequalities. Key messages Cultural value differences between countries have a profound impact on the magnitude of inequalities in adolescents’ health and health behaviours and on the evolution of these inequalities. Identifying cultural value differences in adolescents’ health, health inequalities and evolutions in these inequalities is necessary to inform policies better to tackle these inequalities.


Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 648
Author(s):  
Insa Bechert

This paper explores how atheism relates to national pride. Previous research reports the strong positive relationship between religiosity and national pride. Inversely, it can be assumed that atheists feel less national pride. Whether this assumption holds true and whether the perceived relevance of religiosity for values perceived as fundamental for national pride is a national-specific or a global phenomenon will be investigated here by examining attitudes towards atheists and assessing cross-nationally how proud atheists truly are of their countries. The data reveals cross-country differences in both respects. In highly religious countries, prejudice against atheists is pronounced, while atheists’ feelings of national pride indeed tend to be weaker. But what exactly predicts atheists’ feelings of national pride? For a Multilevel Analysis of this question, this article uses the ONBound database offering cumulated and harmonized data from international survey programs as well as linked country-level data on national identities and religion. Results identify countries’ ideological background as one of the crucial country-level predictors for national pride among atheists. In highly religious countries, people who deny religion also seem to possess ambivalent feelings towards their country. In turn, if the state ideology opposes religion, atheists tend to support the combination of anti-religiousness and patriotism.


2015 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 469-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Houle

Does inequality between ethnic groups destabilize democracies? While the literature largely agrees that inequality harms democracies, previous studies typically focus on the overall level of inequality in a society, leaving unanswered questions about the effect of inequality between ethnic groups. This article fills this gap and argues that inequality between ethnic groups harms the consolidation of democracy but that its effect is strongest when inequality within groups is low. Using group- and country-level data from more than seventy-one democracies and 241 ethnic groups worldwide, the author conducts the first cross-national test to date of the effect of ethnic inequality on transitions away from democracy. Results provide support for the hypothesis: when within-ethnic-group inequality (WGI) is low, between-ethnic-group inequality (BGI) harms democracy, but when WGI is high, BGI has no discernable effect.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Lyons-Amos

Multilevel modelling techniques such as random models or fixed effect are increasingly used in social sciences and demography to both account for clustering within higher level aggregations and evaluate the interaction between individual and contextual information. While this is justifiable in some studies, the extension of multilevel models to national level analysis — and particularly cross-national comparative analysis — is problematic and can hamper the understanding of the interplay between individual and country level characteristics. This paper proposes an alternative approach, which allocates countries to classes based on economic, labour market and policy characteristics. Classes influence the profiles of three key demographic behaviours at a sub-national level: marriage, cohabitation and first birth timing. Woman level data are drawn from a subset of the Harmonized Histories dataset, and national level information from the GGP contextual database. In this example, three country classes are extracted reflecting two Western patterns and an Eastern pattern, divided approximately along the Hajnal line. While Western countries tend to exhibit higher levels of family allowances albeit accounting for a lower share of spending which is associated with lower marriage and later fertility, Eastern countries generally show a higher share of spending but at lower absolute levels with lower cohabitation rates and early fertility.


2021 ◽  
pp. 097265272110153
Author(s):  
Lan Khanh Chu

This article examines the impact of institutional, financial, and economic development on firms’ access to finance in Latin America and Caribbean region. Based on firm- and country-level data from the World Bank databases, we employ an ordered logit model to understand the direct and moderating role of institutional, financial, and economic development in determining firms’ financial obstacles. The results show that older, larger, facing less competition and regulation burden, foreign owned, and affiliated firms report lower obstacles to finance. Second, better macro-fundamentals help to lessen the level of obstacles substantially. Third, the role of institutions in promoting firms’ inclusive finance is quite different to the role of financial development and economic growth. JEL classification: E02; G10; O16; P48


2000 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 548-562 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanjeev Dewan ◽  
Kenneth L. Kraemer

2016 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ignacio Pisano ◽  
Mark Lubell

This article seeks to explain cross-national differences on environmental behavior. After controlling for a series of sociodemographic and psychosocial factors, it was predicted that national levels of wealth, postmaterialism, education development, and environmental problems are positively related to environmental behavior. The national-level variance is to a substantial degree explained by individual-level variables, capturing compositional effects. The remaining variance is explained by the contextual-level variables. All of the country-level variables are predictors in the expected direction, with the exception of environmental degradation, which is negatively related to behavior, and education development, which has no impact on private environmental behavior. More importantly, cross-level interactions show that in more developed countries, there are stronger relationships between proecological attitudes and reported proenvironmental behavior. These findings contribute to the growing cross-cultural research on environmental behavior pointing out the necessity of simultaneously assessing the effects of both individual and contextual-level forces affecting behavior across nations.


2010 ◽  
pp. 209-240
Author(s):  
Ronald J. Mann
Keyword(s):  

Author(s):  
Shuai Li ◽  
Xinyang Hua

AbstractSeveral ecological studies of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have reported correlations between group-level aggregated exposures and COVID-19 outcomes. While some studies might be helpful in generating new hypotheses related to COVID-19, results of such type of studies should be interpreted with cautions. To illustrate how ecological studies and results could be biased, we conducted an ecological study of COVID-19 outcomes and the distance to Brussels using European country-level data. We found that, the distance was negatively correlated with COVID-19 outcomes; every 100 km away from Brussels was associated with approximately 6% to 17% reductions (all P<0.01) in COVID-19 cases and deaths in Europe. Without cautions, such results could be interpreted as the closer to the Europe Union headquarters, the higher risk of COVID-19 in Europe. However, these results are more likely to reflect the differences in the timing of and the responding to the outbreak, etc. between European countries, rather than the ‘effect’ of the distance to Brussels itself. Associations observed at the group level have limitations to reflect individual-level associations – the so-called ecological fallacy. Given the public concern over COVID-19, ecological studies should be conducted and interpreted with great cautions, in case the results would be mistakenly understood.


Author(s):  
Nicolò Cavalli

Using digital traces to investigate demographic behaviours, I leverage in this paper aggregated web search data to develop a Future Orientation Index for 200 countries and territories across the world. This index is expressed as the ratio of Google search volumes for ‘next year’ (e.g., 2021) to search volumes for ‘current year’ (e.g., 2020), adjusted for country-level internet penetration rates. I show that countries with lower levels of future orientation also have higher levels of fertility. Fertility rates decrease quickly as future orientation levels increase; but at the highest levels of future orientation, this correlation flattens out. Theoretically, I reconstruct the role that varying degrees of future orientation might play in fertility decisions by incorporating advances in behavioural economics into a traditional quantity-quality framework à la Becker.


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