During the 1960s and early 1970s, the black – white wage gap narrowed significantly, but has remained constant since the late 1980s. The black – white wage gap in the recent period may reflect differences in human capital. A key component of human capital is labor market experience. The first chapter of this dissertation examines how differences in the returns and patterns of experience accumulation affect the black – white wage gap. Accounting for differences in the nature of experience accumulation does not explain the very large gap in wages between blacks and whites. Instead, the wage gap seems to be driven by constant differences between blacks and whites which may represent unobserved differences in skill or the effects of discrimination. The second chapter of the dissertation examines the role of discrimination in explaining the wage gap by asking whether statistical discrimination by employers causes the wages of never incarcerated blacks to suffer when the incarceration rate of blacks in an area increases. I find little evidence that black incarceration rates negatively affect the wages of never incarcerated blacks. Instead, macroeconomic effects in areas with higher incarceration rates play a more important role in explaining the variation in black wages. The third and final chapter of the dissertation examines the black – white wage gap and its determinants across the entire wage distribution to determine if the factors that are driving the wage gap vary across the distribution. I find that at the top of the conditional distribution, differences in the distribution of characteristics explain relatively more of the black – white wage gap than differences in the prices of characteristics. At the bottom of the conditional distribution, differences in the distribution of characteristics explain relatively more of the wage gap—although this finding varies across different specifications of the model.

This thesis considers two isoperimetric inequalities for the eigenvalues of the Laplacian on a family of spherically symmetric Riemannian manifolds. The Payne-Pólya-Weinberger Conjecture (PPW) states that for a bounded domain Ω in Euclidean space Rn, the ratio λ1(Ω)/λ0(Ω) of the first two eigenvalues of the Dirichlet Laplacian is bounded by the corresponding eigenvalue ratio for the Dirichlet Laplacian on the ball BΩof equal volume. The Szegö-Weinberger inequality states that for a bounded domain Ω in Euclidean space Rn, the first nonzero eigenvalue of the Neumann Laplacian μ1(Ω) is maximized on the ball BΩ of the same volume. In the first three chapters we will look at the known work for the manifolds Rn and Hn. Then we will take a family a spherically symmetric manifolds given by Rn with a spherically symmetric metric determined by a radially symmetric function f. We will then give a PPW-type upper bound for the eigenvalue gap, λ1(Ω) − λ0(Ω), and the ratio λ1(Ω)/λ0(Ω) on a family of symmetric bounded domains in this space. Finally, we prove the Szegö-Weinberger inequality for this same class of domains.

This thesis is about social class and economic inequality, using the Goldthorpe class schema. It tests theories claiming that social class is increasingly irrelevant to inequality and people's life-chances with data on incomes and material living standards from the British Household Panel Survey. It covers the period over which the survey ran, i.e. 1991-2008. During this time many prominent social theories dismissed class analyses while others sought to retain the class concept but dismissed its economic foundations, seeking to ground it in culture instead. Economic inequality has not figured highly on the agenda of class analysts, at least not those working with the Goldthorpe class schema. There is a substantial body of work on mobility, voting behaviour, income poverty and material deprivation, but inequality in a broader sense has for the most part been neglected. This thesis is a step towards rectifying this situation. Thus it provides new information about within-career social mobility as well as income inequality within and between classes, on whether income mobility reduces class inequalities over time, and cast light on class inequalities in material living standards. The findings suggest that class is far from irrelevant to economic inequality. Class differences in incomes are persistent, between class inequalities contribute more to inequality overall than within-class inequalities, and while income mobility does reduce class inequalities over time it is not to the extent that supports the hypothesis that class is irrelevant to people's economic fortunes.

Essa dissertação tem como objetivo apresentar uma medida de desigualdade distinta das usualmente utilizadas na literatura de desigualdade. Tal medida, aqui denominada índice J, além de possuir a característica de ser simétrica também possibilita conduzir análises distintas daquelas feitas com os índices usualmente utilizados. Para avaliar a aplicabilidade do índice J foram utilizados dados provenientes da PNAD referente aos anos de 2007, 2011 e 2015 . Apenas dados referentes ao estado de São Paulo foram incluídos. Além de avaliar a evolução da desigualdade no período, decomposição intra e entre grupos foram conduzidas. Testes de hipótese para a desigualdade entre grupos, uma das possibilidades apresentada pelo índice J, foram conduzidos. Também foi avaliado como a presença de erros de medidas não condicionais à renda influenciaria o resultado. Os resultados apresentados pelo índice J apontam para uma diminuição da desigualdade de renda no período analisado, sendo que a variável educação se apresentou como a característica com maior capacidade de explicar a desigualdade total a partir da desigualdade entre grupos, dentre as variáveis analisadas. A simulação de Monte Carlo conduzida para o teste de hipótese para desigualdade entre grupos também apontou à variável educação como a mais provável de gerar desigualdade. A presença de erros de medida não condicionais à renda não influenciou no resultado final do índice J, porém a simulação de tais erros contribuiu para amenizar o problema de discretização dos dados provenientes da PNAD. O índice J apresentou-se como uma alternativa viável aos índices usualmente utilizados na literatura de desigualdade, possibilitando algumas análises distintas e que podem auxiliar no estudo da desigualdade de renda. / This dissertation aims to present a measure of inequality distinct from those usually used in the inequality literature. Such a measure, here called the J index, besides having the characteristic of being symmetrical also makes it possible to conduct analyzes different from those made with the indexes usually used. To evaluate the applicability of the J index, data from the PNAD for the years 2007, 2011 and 2015 were used in the analysis. Only data referring to the state of São Paulo were included. In addition to assessing the evolution of inequality in the period, within and between group decomposition were conducted. Hypothesis tests for the inequality between groups, one of the possibilities presented by the index J, were conducted. It was also evaluated how the presence of errors of measures not conditional to the income would influence the result. The results presented by the index J point to a decrease in income inequality in the analyzed period, with the education variable being the characteristic with the greatest capacity to explain the total inequality from the inequality between groups, among the variables analyzed. The Monte Carlo simulation conducted for the hypothesis test for inequality between groups also pointed to the education variable as the most likely to generate inequality. The presence of measurement errors did not influence the final result of the J index, but the simulation of such errors contributed to soften the problem of discretization of PNAD data. The index J was presented as a viable alternative to the indexes usually used in theliterature of inequality, allowing some different analyzes and that can help in thestudy of income inequality.

This study looks at female musicians performing in subcultural rock genres commonly considered non-gender-conforming, such as punk rock, heavy metal, noise, and experimental. Twenty-four interviews were conducted with female musicians who reflected on their experiences as musicians. Themes emerged on women’s patterns of entry into music, barriers they negotiated while playing, and forces that may push them out of the music scene. Once women gained a musician identity, their gender functioned as a master status. They negotiated sexism when people questioned their abilities, assumed men played better, expected them to fail, held them to conventional gender roles, and sexually objectified them. Normative expectations of women as primary caregivers for children, internalization of criticism, and high personal expectations are considered as factors that contribute to women’s exit from musical careers. This research closes with suggestions for how more women and girls can be socialized into rock music.

Cette thèse porte sur la mesure et la compréhension des inégalités des chances en santé c'est-à-dire aux inégalités attribuables à des facteurs ne relevant pas de la responsabilité individuelle, tel que le milieu d'origine. Nous portons un intérêt spécifique à la contribution des comportements de santé dans la construction de ces inégalités. Nous développons notre analyse à travers trois axes : (i) la mesure de l'importance respective des conditions de vie dans l'enfance, du niveau d'éducation et des comportements de santé dans l'explication des inégalités de santé ; (ii) l'analyse des mécanismes en jeu dans la transmission intergénérationnelle des comportements de santé avec l'exemple du tabagisme et des habitudes de soins ; (iii) la mesure des différences entre pays européens dans les inégalités des chances en santé. Les analyses empiriques combinent des données prospectives d'une cohorte britannique ainsi que des données rétrospectives issues d'une enquête française et d'une enquête européenne. Les résultats soulignent la contribution aux inégalités de santé des conditions de vie dans l'enfance et du niveau d'éducation de façon directe et de façon indirecte par les comportements de santé. / This thesis focuses on the measurement and the understanding of inequality of opportunity in health which are inequalities related to factors beyond the individual responsability, such as the individual's social background. We focus on the contribution of health-related behaviors in the construction of these inequalities. Our analysis is based on three topics: (i) the measure of the respective contribution of early-life conditions, education and lifestyles to health inequality ; (ii) the analysis of the intergenerational transmission of health-related behaviors with the example of smoking and health care habits ; (iii) the measure of cross-country differences in inequality of opportunity in health with a European perspective. Empirical analysis are conducted with both prospective data using a British cohort and retrospective data using a French study and a European study. The results emphasize the contribution of early-life conditions and education to health inequality both directly and indirectly through lifestyles.

This thesis explores how and why gender wage inequality persisted in Australia during the period 1990 to 2003. A review of the wage data indicated that Australian inequality persisted during this period and even increased in Western Australia. An analysis of the literature and published tribunal decisions showed that the focus of action relating to gender wage equality was on the formal industrial relations system, through legislation and tribunal decisions. As the literature also indicated that these measures had failed to assist many female-dominated occupations, it was felt useful to examine the views of key stakeholders in the formal industrial relations system. Given the mainly quantitative and aggregate data analysis of previous empirical literature and the theoretical literature’s growing focus on less quantifiable social factors, it was felt that qualitative research would add to the analysis of gender wage determination. This thesis uses in-depth interviews with stakeholders in the federal and Western Australian industrial relations systems to examine the period 1990 to 2003. Their perceptions and observations are triangulated with published wage data from selected occupations. / Interviewees felt that the persistence of gender wage inequality was a complex artifact. An artifact of economic, industrial relations, social and cultural factors, combined with the biological and psychological attributes of all involved in decisions before and in the workplace. While much of the gender wage gap literature has been focused on the economic, industrial relations, or legal aspects of wage inequality, this thesis uniquely demonstrates why and how social and cultural influences also act to create persistent gender wage inequality. As much as action is taken in the legal and political arena to create equality, the players in the industrial relations system, consciously or not, both male and female, say that they have helped to (re)construct the gender wage gap. The implications are that in order to achieve gender wage equality, action cannot be left only to legislation and activity in the courts, but is also needed at the social and cultural level. Such action could be taken within the enterprise as well as in the school, community and home.

The tension-compression vibration of an elastic cusped plate is studied under all the reasonable boundary conditions at the cusped edge, while at the noncusped edge displacements and at the upper and lower faces of the plate stresses are given.

Symmetrical Multilevel Diversity Coding (SMDC) is a network compression problem for which a simple separate coding strategy known as superposition coding is optimal in terms of achieving the entire admissible rate region. Carefully constructed induction argument along with the classical subset entropy inequality of Han played a key role in proving the optimality. This thesis considers a generalization of SMDC for which, in addition to the randomly accessible encoders, there is also an all-access encoder. It is shown that superposition coding remains optimal in terms of achieving the entire admissible rate region of the problem. Key to our proof is to identify the supporting hyperplanes that define the boundary of the admissible rate region and then build on a generalization of Han's subset inequality. As a special case, the (R0,Rs) admissible rate region, which captures all possible tradeoffs between the encoding rate, R0, of the all-access encoder and the sum encoding rate, Rs, of the randomly accessible encoders, is explicitly characterized. To provide explicit proof of the optimality of superposition coding in this case, a new sliding-window subset entropy inequality is introduced and is shown to directly imply the classical subset entropy inequality of Han.

We will study the solution stability of a parametric quasi-variational inequality without the monotonicity assumption of operators. By using the degree theory and the natural map we show that under certain conditions, the solution map of the problem is lower semi-continuous with respect to parameters.