Search

Abstract Analytical sociology explains macro-level outcomes by referring to micro-level behaviors, and its hypotheses thus take macro-level entities (e.g. groups) as their units of analysis. The statistical analysis of these macro-level units is problematic, since macro units are often few in number, leading to low statistical power. Additionally, micro-level processes take place within macro units, but tests on macro-level units cannot adequately deal with these processes. Consequently, much analytical sociology focuses on testing micro-level predictions. We propose a better alternative; a method to test macro hypotheses on micro data, using randomization tests. The advantages of our method are (i) increased statistical power, (ii) possibilities to control for micro covariates, and (iii) the possibility to test macro hypotheses without macro units. We provide a heuristic description of our method and illustrate it with data from a published study. Data and R-scripts for this paper are available in the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/scfx3/). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The notion of the constraint (or degree of organization) of belief systems is a potentially fruitful one in both political science and sociology. Existing attempts to measure constraint, however, have had severe drawbacks, both conceptual and methodological. This paper argues that this constraint is better conceived of as the absence of dispersion in a table of cross-classified beliefs and demonstrates that measures based on this conception are better at discerning the presence of constraint where it is quite likely to exist, namely, in small, ideologically focused groups. The approach to constraint outlined here has a number of other advantages: it is equally appropriate to interval, ordinal, or nominal data; it does not require external criteria of what responses should be associated with others; it is not variance-dependent; it does not assume that constraint is equivalent to either reduced dimensionality or pairwise association; and it is equally appropriate for mass and nonmass belief systems. It is also simple to conduct tests of significance difference across populations. Finally, this paper outlines the proper way to standardize such measures, which applies to other uses of the entropy measure, such as the quantification of income inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a framework for assessing interindividual and intergroup differences in the sense of justice. The framework enables estimation of all the justice quantities of interest--the principles of microjustice and macrojustice, the style of expression, and the firmness with which the principles of microjustice are held--as well as statistical testing for cross-individual and cross-group differences. To illustrate the framework, the paper investigates gender differences in the principles of justice with respect to earnings. Using data collected by Rossi's factorial-survey method, we obtain respondent-specific estimates of (i) three principles of microjustice -- the just base wage, the just rate of return to schooling, and the just gender multiplier--and the certitude with which they are held; and (ii) the principles of macrojustice--represented by seven measures of inequality. To assess gender differences in each of these eleven elements, we estimate a variety of models, utilizing ordinary least-squares estimators and, to correct for possible heteroskedasticity and endogeneity, generalized least-squares and two-stage/least-squares estimators; for the three estimated principles of micro justice, we also carry out hierarchical empirical-Bayes analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines a structural theory of industrial organization and operation. The analytical approach taken is largely based on the premise that industry is embedded in the social structure of market competition. Moreover, imperfect competition and industrial resource dependence are composed of and reflected in interindustrial transaction patterns. Using network models of imperfect competition, this study explains the determinants of Israeli industrial performance. The first part of this paper inquires into the structure of interindustrial relations using structural equivalence as a diagnostic tool. In the second part structural determinants of industrial profitability are estimated. Profitability is predicted by the degree of control an industry has over its domestic transactions and its linkage to the world economy. Implications of this study for the theoretical models of social competition and for an empirical analysis of markets and firms are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Researchers have established that individual religiosity influences sexual behavior and that religious support can increase consistency between personal religiosity and behavior. Researchers are less certain, however, of the effect that religious friendship networks have on sexual behavior. In addition, the effects of network characteristics such as density and one’s position in a social network have not been established. This paper uses a network subsample of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to examine the effect of friends’ religiosity on the probability of first sex. We find that friends’ religiosity has an independent influence on adolescent sexual behavior that is similar in magnitude to personal religiosity. We also find evidence that friends’ religiosity has the strongest influence on the sexual behavior of adolescents who are embedded in dense social networks, in which teens’ friends are also friends with one another. These results support the hypothesis that group influences depend on the degree of embeddedness within the network and highlight the importance of studying religion as a property of groups as well as individuals. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Social autonomy is the tendency to assert one’s opinion in the face of opposition. This paper investigates the social roots of that tendency by focusing on the long-term effects of childhood family background on midlife social autonomy. The effects of two aspects of family background are investigated—socioeconomic background and childhood household composition. Family background variables in these categories have small yet theoretically and statistically significant effects on midlife social autonomy. Parental education and occupation are associated with midlife social autonomy among both men and women. Early-life household composition variables and parental income are associated with social autonomy only among women. Adult status variables generally do not mediate the effects of of the family background variables on midlife social autonomy. This suggests that the long-term effects of family background on social autonomy are primarily due to early life socialization. Gender-specific socialization processes are discussed as explanations for these effects. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Current perspectives on reproductive health place strong emphasis on making steady progress with respect to women’s reproductive rights () in developing countries. Reproductive rights are composed of abortion rights and personal rights such as rights of equality of sexes during marriage. The purpose of this paper is to propose a model of reproductive health at the cross-national level. It is argued that improvements in gender equality and levels of democracy are necessary and important for increasing reproductive health levels. Data from 129 developing countries are used to test the proposed model. It is found that as the level of democracy increases resulting in improvements in gender equality, the extent of personal rights improves. Furthermore, advances in personal rights increase the level of reproductive health. Theoretical implications and limitations of the study are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper, we propose a synthetic framework, “strategic adaptation,” for understanding the social mobility process of Asian Americans. We argue that Asian Americans consciously choose occupations where they can effectively cope with potential discrimination and other disadvantages by achieving marketable credentials. Our empirical analyses are primarily based on data from the 1988–1994 National Educational Longitudinal Survey. There are four main findings from our study. First, Asian American youth tend to choose occupations with a high representation of Asian workers and high average earnings/education, relative to whites, even after controlling for socioeconomic background and academic performance. Second, Asians are more likely than whites to expect to enter college and to major in fields that have high financial payoffs. Third, a large fraction of this racial gap is attributable to occupational expectation. Finally, Asians are more likely than are whites to actually enroll in college and to pursue high-earning majors, and these racial differences are attributable to both educational expectation and occupational expectation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Many social scientists conducting macro-level analyses use aggregate-level variables (weighted sums of the characteristics of the individuals within the macro-level units: e.g., means, percents, or rates) to describe macro-level units (e.g., schools, cities, or states). Researchers have long known that aggregate-level variables are likely to be more reliable than individual-level variables. More recently, they have recognized the possibility of estimating the reliability of aggregate-level variables using information on the variability of these variables and variability of the individual-level characteristics (on which they are based). These reliability estimates can be used to correct measures of association at the aggregate-level for unreliability. When correcting measures of relationship, however, researchers will often need to consider the correlated errors generated when the same set of individuals responds to the same questions used to create the aggregate-level variables (the problem of joint sampling). This paper shows how to estimate these correlated measurement errors and use them, and aggregate-level reliability coefficients, to correct measures of relationship at the aggregate-level. These techniques are applied to data from the Senate National Election Studies to illustrate the impact of these corrections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses two basic issues related to the assessment of the goodness-of-fit of sociological models to behavioral data: How simplifying assumptions contained in models should be evaluated and whether analysis of data should be carried out at the individual group or aggregate level. The discussion is conducted in the context of the fit of a model of participation rates by Fisek, Berger, and Norman (1991) to data collected by Smith-Lovin, Skvoretz, and Hudson (1986) in a Bales-type situation. The conclusions are that simplifying assumptions should be evaluated from the point of view of robustness of model to violations of such assumptions, and that the assessment of the adequacy of minimal actor models should be in terms of aggregated data. The fit of the model and data under consideration is assessed to be adequate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corporate innovation is often argued to result from, and be encouraged by, market competition. The tradition is to test such arguments with market concentration data; firms with stronger control over their market can afford the long-run investment of R&D. Network theory has broadened our understanding of how competition is a function of structure within and beyond a market. Producers earn high profit margins to the extent they are few and their customers and suppliers are many and disorganized. The first condition is measured by the traditional concentration ratio for a market. The second condition is measured by the network constraint of suppliers and customers. My purpose in this paper is to describe how our understanding of the market competition effect on innovation is enriched when the concentration measure of market competition tradition in economics is replaced with the network model of market competition now prevalent in sociology. Results indicate that markets facing competitive environments, in high constraint market positions, show greater R&D intensity and faster rates of innovation than do industries facing less competitive pressure. These effects persist even with controls for technological opportunity and appropriability, in contrast to traditional models using only concentration data to measure competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contends past findings of the absence of distinctive socialist mobility structures on two grounds: the lack of systematic cross-national comparison within the socialist bloc and an exclusive focus on men's mobility. From a comprehensive analysis of the mobility of men and women in three former socialist societies (Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland), the study identifies a socialist mobility regime which differs from the capitalist one in at least two major ways: the existence of long-range upward and downward mobility and the significant outflow of farmers to other destinations. It also finds significant cross-national and gender differences in mobility patterns, confirming that gender and class interact to generate specific mobility patterns even within socialist societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]