Least-squares multidimensional scaling is known to have a serious problem of local minima, especially if one dimension is chosen, or if city-block distances are involved. One particular strategy, the smoothing strategy proposed by Pliner (1986, 1996), turns out to be quite successful in these...

The costs of comprehensively genotyping human subjects have fallen to the point where major funding bodies, even in the social sciences, are beginning to incorporate genetic and biological markers into major social surveys. How, if at all, should economists use and combine molecular genetic and...