bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Protective immunogenicity of Haemophilus influenzae type b polysaccharide‐tetanus protein conjugate vaccine in children who failed to respond to prior invasive H. influenzae type b disease
Authors: Berthet Franqoise , Prehn Antje , Suter Raymond , Ethevenaux Chantal , Seger Reinhard A.
Published: June 2007

abstract

A polyribosylribitol phosphate (po1ysaccharide)‐tetanus protein conjugate vaccine (PRP‐T) against Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) was evaluated for protective immunogenicity in 25 previously PRP‐unim‐munized children who had failed to develop protective PRP antibody levels (< 1 μg/ml) after prior invasive Hib disease at median age 10 months. Children under 21 months of age at time of PRP‐T immunization received one, two or three doses. Serum was obtained for total PRP antibody, complement mediated bactericidal activity and specific IgG1 and IgG2 PRP antibodies before (n = 25), 1 to 2 months (n = 24) and > 5 months (n = 13) after completed vaccination. One to 2 months after immunization, all but one patient developed > 1 μg/ml of antibody (geometric mean level 50.7 μg/ ml). The non‐responder developed protective antibody levels when tested at 6 months after vaccination. Twenty out of 22 sera had detectable complement mediated bactericidal activity (median dilution titer 1:24), 1‐2 months after vaccination. Three patients failed to demonstrate PRP antibodies in the IgG1 or IgG2 subclasses, although two of them had protective (> lμg/ml) total antibody levels. The second post immunization sera showed persistence of the total PRP antibody levels (geometric mean level 38.2 μg/ml) as well as of the bactericidal activity (median dilution titer 1:32). Conclusion: PRP‐T conjugate vaccine is able to elicit a protective immune response in children who have low or unmeasurable PRP antibody levels after a systemic Hib infection.
Innovation station
Authors: Brown Tom
Published: June 2007

The purpose of the Management Innovation Lab is to accelerate the evolution of management by bringing together practitioners from industry and academics to research and develop better ways to manage in the 21st century. Tom Brown looks at the work of the MLab through the eyes of its executive director, Alan Matcham.
Shapes and Sizes: Distribution Theory in Action
Authors: BISSELL A. F.
Published: June 2007

In this series of articles on the industrial applications of probability and statistics, we look at a problem that confronts any manufacturer of goods made in a range of sizes—how many, or what proportion of each size should he make?
Teaching Statistical Reasoning with Computers
Authors: Rosebery Ann S. , Rubin Andee
Published: June 2007

This aritcle describes some of the software developed for a computer enhanced curriculum to teach statistical thinking to high school students which enphasises acitive participation and decision‐making by the students.
1991 Census ‐ The Ethnic Question
Authors: Green David
Published: June 2007

The British 1991 Census will include for the first time ever a question on race. This article describes the pilot surveys which were used to test the feasibility of including such a question.
BOOK REVIEWS
Authors: EDDOWES MURIEL , FRENCH H. J. , GREEN DAVID , ROUNCEFIELD MARY
Published: June 2007

Books Reviewed in this Article:

Quantitative Approaches in Business Studies.

Tackling Biology Projects.

Investigating Statistics: A beginner's guide.

Quantitative Analysis.

Geographical Data Sources presentation and analysis.

A Concise Course in A Level Statistics.

Urban Data Sources and Methods In Geography.
Book REVIEWS
Authors: BUXTON RICHARD , ROYLE GWEN , PERKS PAT , O'HANLON SUE , GODJNO JUAN D , GREEN DAVID
Published: June 2007

Books Reviewed in this Article:

Teaching Large Classes in Higher Education.

Third World Guide 91/92.

PM649 Supporting Primary Mathematics, The Open University.

Exploring Statistics with Minitab.

Ability, Partial information, Guessing: Statistical Modelling applied to Multiple‐choice Tests.

Mathematical Statistics.

The Crest of the Peacock.
Teaching Statistics to Physiotherapy Students
Authors: Garven Frances , Reed Margaret
Published: June 2007

Shortage of teaching time for the statistics element of the BSc Physiotherapy course at the Queen's College, Glasgow, and its unfavourable reception by students, led to the development of a newly‐structured course based on the students' use of a self‐study workbook and a test to evaluate the effectiveness of this approach for the teaching of correlation and regression.
Estimating the Size of a Population
Authors: Johnson Roger W.
Published: June 2007

Several estimates of an unknown population size are compared.
Graphing in the Primary School
Authors: Pereira‐Mendoza Lionel
Published: June 2007

This article examines the role of graphical work in data handling in the early years of schooling.
Arm‐waving Mathematics: Sound, if Not Rigorous
Authors: Brewer Ken
Published: June 2007

This article suggestes some teachniques, herein referred to as ‘arm‐waving’, which utilise analogies, graphs and examples to illustrate the contribution of mathematisc to statistical concepts without a rigorous treatment of the mathematics used.
Statistical Tools and Statistical Literacy: The Case of The Average
Authors: Gal Iddo
Published: June 2007

This article is intended to serve as a starting point for a dialogue regarding the goals of teaching students about averages and how to assess their emerging knowledge.
A Classic Probability Puzzle
Authors: Falk Ruma
Published: June 2007

A classic probability puzzle, presenting an absurd result, is analysed. Clearing the confusion caused by this problem sheds light on basic concepts of probability theory.
Hey ‐ what's the big idea?
Authors: Graham Alan
Published: June 2007

A ‘big idea’ in statistics can fail to register with students when it is obscured by finer details of lesson tasks or activities. Based on the graphics calculator, this article describes a lesson designed to introduce the Central Limit Theorem.
Anomalous Sports Performances
Authors: Quinn Robert J.
Published: June 2007

This article discusses a lesson in which students explore the binomial probability distribution by considering anomalous performances in sports.
Countering Indifference Using Counterintuitive Examples
Authors: Lesser Larry
Published: June 2007

Counterintuitive examples can motivate not demoralise students.
Industrial Visits Work
Authors: Gibson Bill
Published: June 2007

Visiting industry to see how statistical methods are used in practice is well worth the time and effort which are involved.
Simulating Sampling Distributions
Authors: Arnholt Alan T
Published: June 2007

This article shows how simulation can be used to teach sampling distributions to entry level statistics students.
Examples of the Use of Technology in Teaching Statistics
Authors: Scott Tom , Jackman Susan
Published: June 2007

This article describes the use of Microsoft Excel, graphics calculators and a multimedia CBL package by students on an introductory statistics course.
What is The International Statistical Institute?
Authors: Hawkins Anne
Published: June 2007

This is the second of a short series of articles briefly describing the organisations that sponsor Teaching Statistics.
Who's the Winner? An Exercise in Measurement
Authors: Shannon Kathleen M
Published: June 2007

Issues of measurement are fundamental in statistics but often overlooked in introductory courses. This interactive exercise encourages students to think critically about how things are measured.
What is the Applied Probability Trust?
Authors: Gani Joe
Published: June 2007

This is the third and last in the short series of articles outlining the work of the organisations that sponsor Teaching Statistics.
An Aid to Intuitively Understanding Bias and Consistency
Authors: Spencer Neil H
Published: June 2007

Students often find the concepts of bias and consistency hard to understand intuitively. This article presnts means of demonstrating these concepts using a computer so that students, once they have seen them in action, can more readily grasp their meanings and imlications.
Micro‐Flexibility and Macro‐Rigidity: Some Notes on Expectations and the Dynamics of Aggregate Supply
Authors: Bruno Sergio
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT:The high macro supply elasticity experienced by industrialised countries during the second post‐war boom is not explainable as the aggregate effect of current variations of companies’output in response to current variations of demand. A firm cannot adapt rapidly its output to higher demand unless it has decided fairly in advance to expand its productive capacity. Macro elasticity depends thus on the existence of ex ante excess capacity, built on the basis of expectations.

The post‐war boom is thus explained in terms of a virtuous sequence expectations‐decisions‐events. This approach helps in understanding the inversion of the expansionary phase to one of stag‐flation, the failure of Keynesian policies and the subsequent industrial restructuring which gave rise to the present employment squeeze.

Flexibility is something which depends on the relationships between individual expectations and decisions and their systemic results; the presently pursued micro‐flexibility is at high risk of producing increasing macro‐rigidity.
Labour Market Policy and Employment Growth in Sweden
Authors: Wadensjö Eskil
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT: In this paper, the author outlines the Swedish employment situation and traces the history of the labour market policy it generated, from its earliest development at the turn of the century, through to the Rehn‐Meidner model, and then examines the various reactions and criticisms against it. It goes on to look at the trends and developments of the labour market in the‘80s, and concludes by making a speculative analysis on if and how the labour market policy has had an effect on the participation of various sectors of the population in the labour force, and if it has influenced unemployment in the Swedish labour market.
Labour Policy in the Federal Republic of Germany: Challenges and Concepts
Authors: Kühl Jürgen
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper describes how German labour policy, both employment policy and active labour market policies, has developed between 1974 and 1987. Government intervention for full employment in a welfare state, a cooperative system of industrial relations, an active labour market policy, and a comparatively efficient system of vocational and adult education did not prevent the loss of full employment in 1974. But persistent labour market slack until today has not fundamentally changed the climate of relative political and social calm.

The basic concepts, programmes and specific measures of labour policies pursued in the FRG are surveyed with special reference to their costs and effects on employment and the structure of unemployment. The challenges to labour policy stem from three complete business cycles around a slightly falling trend in employment and the bad prospectives of the German labour market until the year 2000. Four major measures of labour market policy now reduce registered unemployment by about 400,000 in the mid 1980s. Total costs of unemployment amounting to 57 billion DM per year offer financial alternatives to create jobs and to reduce working hours.

Finally, actual proposals under discussion in Germany are examined in order to combat unemployment in a determined commitment to full employment immediately.
Industrial Relations Agenda for Change: The Case of the United States
Authors: Kochan Thomas A. , Wever Kirsten R.
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT: Over the past several decades, all of the advanced industrial societies have experienced growing pressures on the institutions governing their industrial relations systems. In this paper, the authors analyze the changes in collective bargaining, and more generally, in the entire industrial relations system in the United States. This analysis also takes into consideration the environmental pressures that have produced these changes, and the measures taken by labour and management organizations to cope with them. Underlying this analysis is the central premise that sustaining and diffusing changes in industrial relations will be necessary to achieve a
Do Women Cause Unemployment? Evidence from Eight OECD Countries
Authors: McCarthy Mary , Reichlin Lucrezia
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT: In this paper the authors present the results of preliminary estimates on the effects of changes in the composition of labour forces throughout eight OECD countries during the period 1966‐1986. The analysis proceeds in two steps. First, the effect of changes in the distribution of the labour force on group unemployment is computed. Second, the impact of this effect is combined with the direct effect of changes in the distribution of participation on total unemployment rates, to calculate a hypothetical unemployment rate which corresponds to what would have occured had there been no compositional changes. The paper challenges the thesis which sustains that alterations in the age‐sex composition of the labour force have exerted an upward pressure on the aggregate unemployment rate.
Industrial Relations in West Germany, 1980‐1987
Authors: Streeck Wolfgang
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT: The paper describes the structure and state of industrial relations in the Federal Republic of Germany and discusses perspectives and problems of their future development. Its composition follows the syllabus of an internationally comparative research project.
Labour Mobility in Italy: An Empirical Investigation
Authors: Baussola Maurizio
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT: In this paper the author presents a model of unemployment inflows and outflows for the Italian labour market. The flows that the author attempts to estimate are the unemployment inflows and outflows from and to employment. The aggregate estimation suggests that a crucial role is played by the aggregate demand and wage variables, and by the structural change variable. The paper also presents intersectoral estimations of SURE, which take into consideration the flows between Industry and Services. The results are along the lines of those obtained at the aggregate level. An important factor which should be underlined, however, is the asymmetric pattern of the wage variable in the industrial and services sector.
When Decentralized Trade Unions are Better for their Members than Centralized Ones
Authors: Soubeyran Antoine
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT: The aim of this paper is to localize situations where decentralized trade unions are better for their members than centralized ones. This phenomenon does not appear inside the internal game between oligopolistic firms and between firms and trade unions. It appears only when we introduce feed‐back effects from an external game between these oligopolistic firms and a foreign public supplier, in a foreign country where these firms export and sell the goods they produce.

The proof of theorems 1. 2, 3 and 4, and of Corollary 4, can be found in the mathematical appendix, available on request from the author. Write to Professor Antoine Soubeyran, Clos Saint Louis, Chemin des Lauves, Aix en Provence, 13100 France.
Recent Trends and Features in Youth Unemployment
Authors: Accornero Aris
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper underlines, first of all, that diverse ways to define and compute the unemployed people used by various countries produces different figures, and images too, of this phenomenon. Using overly restricted criteria means depriving oneself of useful information. Secondly, the author explains the profound differences between traditional unemployment and contemporary joblessness, which concerns many young people in Western countries. Finally, the author discusses this new feature of the unemployment phenomenon, and affirms that joblessness is not a ‘non‐use‘ but rather a ‘new‐use‘ of young people by modern capitalistic societies.
Empirical Analyses of Causal Relationships among Estimated Aggregate Unemployment Duration and Some Properly Chosen Economic Variables
Authors: Passamani Giuliana
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT: The paper is concerned with estimating and analysing the duration of unemployment, that is the length of time people spend on average looking for work. The first issue of the paper is to estimate unemployment duration using data from the survey on labour force done quarterly in Italy by ISTAT, the National Institute of Statistics. The survey data on the duration of unemployment measure duration so far, that is the average length of unemployment spells in progress up to the date of the survey, but they don't provide any information about completed duration of unemployment experimented by people before finding a job or leaving the labour force. In order to estimate the average length of completed unemployment spells, we would have to use data on cohorts of people followed from the time of entry to the time of exit from the labour market. As longitudinal data is not available, the problem becomes rather complex. One way to get round this is to use data on flows to firstly estimate probabilities of leaving unemployment within a particular period. The available data refer to quarterly flows and yearly flows. This makes it possible to estimate short‐term unemployment (less than six months) and long‐term unemployment (more than twelve months). In another paper we have analysed the nature of the bias introduced by estimating short‐term and long‐term unemployment in the way we do, and we have come to the conclusion that the bias is approximately a constant, which can be very easily estimated and eliminated. The second issue of the paper is to analyse the estimated short‐term and long‐term unemployment in relation to cyclical changes in the economic system and with trend changes in the number of unemployed people seeking the first job. In particular, we want to establish the extent of causal relationships between the chosen explanatory variables and the dependent variable. These causal analyses are done separately for the male and female population, and cover the period from the first quarter of 1979 to the last quarter of 1986.
Employment Spells and Previous Labour Market History
Authors: Gay Guido
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT: In this paper the author analyses the influence of the past labour market history of an individual on the length of employment spells he will experience. Most empirical works emphasize the so called Markov model, which implies that the probability of an individual changing state depends only on the state currently occupied. Using data on the labour market histories of a sample of unemployed persons, we specify and estimate a reduced form model where job separation rates arc a function of the entire labour market history and of variables related to personal characteristics and labour market conditions. The empirical analysis supports the claim that transition probabilities are related to past labour market history.
An Integrated Accounting for Firms, Job Positions and Employment
Authors: Bruni Michele
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT: Using flow analyses for the various population areas and the social accounting that may be developed using the data from these analyses, enables us to better comprehend labour market dynamics. This comprehension is taken a step further if we interrelate this accounting system to that of the productive system. This paper deals with the more limited task of formulating an integrated accounting system for firms, job positions and employment, in order to clarify the concepts of an individual‘s stay in the employment area — both on a stay‐by‐stay basis and throughout the course of his or her entire working life — and that of mobility. The paper similarly touches on problems found in measuring flows, discusses the concept of definitive exit and its analytical relevance, and finally examines some recent Italian contributions on the topics of birth and death rates amongst firms and employment flows.
Income Distribution, Public Expenditure and Equality
Authors: Campiglio Luigi
Published: June 2007

Abstract. The increased role of public expenditure in industrialised countries involves new theoretical and empirical problems: general equilibrium models must be fully accommodated with the structural presence of the public sector and at the same time we need a better understanding of the redistributive impact of non‐market rules. Therefore we suggest looking at our economies as a resource allocation mechanism. in which a Walrasian mechanism (without auctioneer) interacts with a political mechanism: we suggest that ex post resource equality is the driving force behind the increasing role of the public sector, and therefore it is also the crucial test against which to evaluate the impact of public expenditure. A stylised way to look at our economies therefore can be as follows: ex ante equality is the domain of market, whilst ex post equality is the domain of the public sector. This approach is compared with cross‐section data of 16 countries and more detailed data, both cross‐section and time‐series, for the case of Italy: empirical results suggest that ex post equality is not a clearcut target, but rather it arises as the net outcome of contrasting forcas.
Union Power and (Un)Employment
Authors: Fehr Ernst
Published: June 2007

Is the monopoly face of unions, i.e. their ability to enforce wages above what non‐unionised firms would pay, harmful to employment and output? It is shown that a positive answer to this question is far less compelling than commonly held views based on a negatively sloped labour demand curve suggest. First, the labour demand curve may be irrelevant for the employment decision of unionised firms. Second, even if the labour demand curve is relevant, selfish union workers are likely to accept a system of wage discrimination which does away with discrepancies between the marginal product and the reservation wage. And third, the labour demand curve may have a positive slope.
Trade Union Action and Collective Bargaining in Europe: Trends and Problems
Authors: Baglioni Guido
Published: June 2007

This paper deals with the transformations that have taken place in European countries over the last ten years— the decade of the 80s— in union action and collective bargaining.

For the latter in particular the trend towards greater convergence, or to maintain the traditional differences found between the industrial relations systems of one country and another, emerges clearly.

The conclusions, moreover, underline the persistence (and the rise during the past years) of safeguards and negotiational contractual mediation, the greater (at least as compared to the previous decade) adhesion of bargaining action to the economic situation, and the determining influence that the various national economies have had on this action, with a rising importance played by the industrial relations of the major firms.
For a New Incomes Policy: New Possibilities and Objectives
Authors: Brunetta Renato , Tronti Leonello
Published: June 2007

Abstract. Moving off from the lessons of the Italian incomes policy experience of the 1980s, this paper presents a new framework to interpret the performance of incomes policy (LP) agreements and institutions, and propose new strategies for the 1990s. IP is viewed as a cooperative outcome that evolves from a non‐cooperative long‐term game between several players (workers, unions, firms, government, parliament, etc.), along the lines of the model drawn up by Brunetta and Carraro (1988).

The paper is divided into three sections. The first summarizes the history of IP in Italy, starting from the phase of the predetermination of disinflation (1983‐84). We firstly outline some of the fundamental features of recent Italian development (the “Italian model”), noting how new IP measures could be taken to create an adequate response to the new European and international deadlines. The difficulties and uncertainties that presently exist at both national and international level make the introduction of IP in new, cooperative and evolutive terms, necessary.

The second section examines the various topics and new objectives of a “strategic” IP resumption, particularly relevant to the concerted action on the cost of labour, presently being discussed. The topics we consider are: the link between wage reform and IP; the recent concerted agreements reached on fiscal drag (26.1.89) and on the cost of labour (25.1 and 6.7.90); the importance of the role of productivity gain‐sharing; programmed inflation and price control; indexation of gross wages and safeguarding the net wage; increase of the tax base; profit‐sharing.

The third and final section presents a few observations which further investigate the distribution of productivity gains between sectors and uses: how it is articulated amongst the various bargaining levels (central, sectoral or enterprise). Redistribution amongst sectors is dealt with in terms of “protected” and “unprotected” areas of the economy, showing the need of a concerted regulation at the central level. Sharing between factors and allocations presents a very different case, and is dealt with at sectoral and firm level.
The New International Migrations and the Changes in the Labour Market
Authors: Pugliese Enrico
Published: June 2007

Abstract. The article intends to point out some of the main changes that are taking place in the structure of the labour market in Europe and the role played by the recent waves of immigration from Third World countries.

The main features of these new migratory flows are that they involve a much larger number of states, both as sending and as receiving countries. Secondly the majority of the migrants workers tend to hold secondary labour market jobs or to work in the informal sector. These two aspects make today's international migrations very different from the intraeuropean migratory waves that concerned a much lower number of countries and were directed towards industrial areas.
A Social Welfare Theory of Trade Unions
Authors: Budd John W.
Published: June 2007

There have been recent advances in the understanding of trade unions by modeling union objectives as maximizing a neoclassical utility function. While this literature is most relevant for autonomous and homogeneous local unions, there are also numerous large, heterogeneous trade unions in many countries. This paper illustrates that social choice theory presents a more realistic framework for explicitly modeling the aggregation of potentially diverse preferences within trade unions.
Part‐Time Work in the EEC Countries: Evolution during the 1980s
Authors: Meulders Danièle , Plasman Robert
Published: June 2007

Whereas part‐time working remains the exponent par excellence of the flexibility of female employment, its relative growth seems to have come to a standstill in both Denmark and the United Kingdom as far as women are concerned, and for men it is now becoming more a matter of young people offsetting studies and work. In France, the Netherlands, Belgium, the UK, Ireland and Germany, the increase in female employment between 1983 and 1989 is largely attributable to the growth of part‐time employment. The difference with respect to the countries of the South of Europe is striking since the proportion of part‐time working there is low, and has not increased significantly since 1983. Its concentration in already very close sectors, its non‐optional nature, insecurity and awkward working hours make part‐time employment of very little personal value for employees.
Part‐Time Employment and the Utilisation of Labour Resources
Authors: Delsen Lei
Published: June 2007

The populations of industrialised countries, particularly in Europe, are ageing. Due to this demographic development social expenditure will increase, while the labour force will be growing only slowly or declining. These developments will have major economic implications. The number of people employed, the productivity per worker and the trend in their real earnings will be important factors constituting the base for levying taxes and premiums for financing social expenditure in the future. In this paper it is argued that the promotion of part‐time employment contributes to a better utilisation of the labour supply potential in a country, to the broadening of the base for financial social security expenditure and at the same time reduces the number of benefits drawn. Some policy recommendations to promote part‐time employment are also presented.
Unemployment Stigma and Multiple Labour Market Equilibria: A Social‐Psychological Interpretation of Hysteresis
Authors: Sessions John G.
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper supplements a simple one period non‐shirking efficiency wage model with behavioural assumptions drawn from the social‐psychological literature. A model of social interaction is developed in which the status associated with various labour market options yields implications for the shape of the non‐shirking constraint and, thereby, for the number and type of labour market equilibria. The significance of such a finding for the existence of unemployment hysteresis is explored.
Examining the Econom(etr)ic Relevance of Discretizing Panel Data: an Application to the Belgian Labour Market
Authors: Cahuzac Eric , Mouchart Michel , Van der Linden Bruno
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT: The object of this paper is to explore how to use administrative data for econometric purposes when these data measure total annual duration spent in various states. A basic issue addressed is whether the information extracted through categorising continuous data actually defines an economically meaningful concept of an individual position on the labour market. The main findings are that discretization indeed leads interpretable transitions on the labour market, and that the mobility between positions rather low in Belgium.
Merit Payment in France: Towards New Forms of Wage Determination?
Authors: Lamotte Bruno , Troussier Jean‐François
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT Wage policies in France were substantially renewed in the 1980s; this renewal was reflected in two phenomena: profit‐sharing and merit payment. Merit payment is analysed here in relation to the emergence of new forms of organization of production. The need for higher‐skilled labour, the relative decline of execution work and Taylorism have led to the setting up of systems of individual assessment and a more coherent organization of internal labour markets. Thus, merit payment should be seen as a very different practice from piece work: rather, it is the first attempt to establish a system of payment which could serve as a basis for renewing the entire wage bargaining set‐up.
Size and Characteristics of Foreign Immigration in Italy
Authors: Bonifazi Corrado
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT During the 1980s, Italy radically changed its position in the international migration system, from supplier of labour to user of foreign labour. But the nature of Italian immigration is different from that which has marked the post‐war process of European development: new immigration flows are no longer an instrument of quantitative rebalancing of labour markets, but instead acquire a function of qualitative rebalancing in sectors where there appears to be a lack of labour supply in particular jobs and qualifications. This paper combines the information available from official sources with those obtainable by the numerous special surveys which have been carried on the phenomenon in the last few years. This framework allows us to underline — even with the limitations due to still‐backward documentation — the characteristics of present immigration, by now firmly rooted in the country but still far from reaching a stable and definitive arrangement.
Trends in Marital Instability in Italy in the 1980s
Authors: Menniti Adele , Palomba Rossella
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT The authors describe the most recent trends in separation and divorce in Italy using ISTAT data for the 1980–1991 period. The analysis shows a rising instability of marriage and thus a lessening of the gap between Italy and other western countries. The total divorce rate rose from three percent in the early 1980s to eight percent at the end of the 1980s. The analysis shows that the increasing breakdown of marriages is not due to “changes in timing” but to a real trend of ending marriages. Older couples have contributed more than younger couples to more unstable marriages over the past decade. Other variables continue today, as in the past, to be closely related to the instability of marriage in Italy.
Labour Market Institutions and Flexibility in Italy
Authors: Demekas Dimitri G
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT: The paper surveys three broad categories of labor market institutions in Italy: employment protection legislation unemployment benefit systems and wage bargaining arrangements In each we the recent evolution and current state of Italian institutions are evaluated and compared With those in other major European countries
Multiple Rhythmically Varying Prices, the Timing of Factor Demands and Induced Technological Change
Authors: Bosworth Derek , Pugh Clive
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT:This Paper the existing literature on optimal capital utilisation and shiftwork patterns by arguing that labour is not the only input to exhibit a price which varies over the time of day week or year Indeed in certain situations as in the w e of capital intensive industries which are heavy consumers of electricity labour costs may not even be the most important consideration The introduction of a second varying input price can completely alter the optimal operating times of production units Once this extension has been adopted it is a fairly easy final step to demonstrate that some firms face a strong inducement to develop technologies which allow them to use their capital and labour independently This type of technological change has become commonplace in recent years but largely unexplained by the existing literature These developments have important implications for the organisation of work patterns and the flexible use of the labour input
Hysteresis versus Persistence in Unemployment: A Sceptical Note on Unit Root Tests
Authors: Leslie Derek , Pu Yonghao , Wharton Alexander
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT:Previous studies of time‐series data suggest that the rate of unemployment is best described as a driftless random walk. This is a far from trivial point because the policy implications of an alternative stationary series can be very different. On the basis of simulated data, this paper demonstrates how the rate of unemployment may appear to be difference stationary, yet is actually trend stationary, and that, contrary to conventional wisdom, the low power of the standard unit root test for stationarity is significant with regard to the conduct of policy. Thus, although the series under investigation may in fact offer little scope for successful policy intervention, the null hypothesis of a unit root may be accepted along with its attendant policy implications. Finally, an alternative test based on a null hypothesis of a stationary process is assessed.
Aspects of Relative Wage Flexibility in Greece
Authors: Ioannou Christos
Published: June 2007

Abstract. Flexibility in relative wages can be either competitive or non‐competitive. In Greece, in the period 1966–1988, wage and employment regulation as well as developments in industrial relations did not favour competitive flexibility and provided an environment conducive to non‐competitive flexibility. With the noticeable exception of the period 1967–74, during which competitive forces emerged and played a dominant role, in 1966–88 the manufacturing labour market operated under the influence of industry‐specific factors. Non‐competitive flexibility associated with industry‐specific changes in productivity in the long run and industry‐specific rates of strike activity in the short run, influenced manufacturing relative wages. Furthermore, in 1977–88, the asymmetric response of industry wages to changes in industry productivity hindered employment growth.
Part‐Time Work in the Nordic Countries: A Trap for Women?
Authors: Nätti Jouko
Published: June 2007

Abstract. The aim of the study is to examine the consequences of part‐time employment at the individual level, especially for women. Are part‐time jobs precarious as compared to full‐time jobs, and are they traps, or perhaps rather bridges, in the labour market? The results indicate that the situation of part‐timers varies in the Nordic countries. On one hand, the gap between part‐time and full‐time work has narrowed in Sweden and Norway, which may reflect a normalization of part‐time work in these countries. On the other, part‐timers' situation in the Finnish labour market still seems more precarious than that of full‐timers. However, in most cases part‐time work is a bridge rather than a trap in the Nordic labour market.
Employment Policy Implications of New Management Systems
Authors: Marsden David
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT: Technical change, economic internationalisation and generally increased competition have caused management in many firms to adopt new employee management systems such as “lean production”, TQM, and have placed a premium on “high performance” cooperative industrial relations systems. This article seeks to provide a first analysis of their likely effects upon the structure of employment, and whether they exacerbate the unemployment problems of many categories of workers. It is argued that these systems place a premium on employment stability of those workers for whom functional flexibility and high levels of cooperation are needed. It asks whether a mix of job stability and limited functional flexibility among incubent workers in many Western European countries has contributed to low hiring rates, and how far cooperative relations within the firm can be cultivated in isolation from conditions in other firms.
Enrolment in Labour Market Training Programmes
Authors: Brännäs Kurt , Eriksson Maria
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT: The specification of a model for selection to labour market training is studied. Based on present value maximization, it is demonstrated that frequently adopted specifications of wage equations yield selection models containing a difference between alternative wage rates paid in the training period. In addition, the training effect on future wage rates can be sign determined. Using this, we test the hypothesis of present value maximization. A test that is robust against omitted variables and heteroskedasticity is used. Based on a sample of unemployed Swedish workers, we find positive training effects for most sub‐groups.
Unemployment, Labour Institutions and Innovation
Authors: Villeval Marie‐Claire
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT: This contribution endorses the transactional trilogy of institutional economics in order to suggest a theoretical framework for re‐examining the relationships between unemployment, labour institutions, and technological and organisational innovation. Labour institutions are usually called into question in the debates on European unemployment. Although the advocates of the biased technological change thesis defend it in order to improve the employment of unskilled workers, this article argues that a deregulation of the labour market may in fact generate losses of dynamic efficiency with respect to knowledge accumulation, the organisation of production and national capabilities of innovation. In addition, the impact of technological and organisational innovation on employment partly depends on the capabilities of firms and nations to initiate institutional learning, regarding bargaining, managerial and rationing transactions.
The Influence of Unemployment Benefits on Unemployment Duration: Evidence from Spain
Authors: Cebrián Inmaculada , García Carlos , Muro Juan , Toharia Luis , Villagómez Elizabeth
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper analyses the duration of unemployment spells and the possible incidence of unemployment insurance on job search behaviour and voluntary duration of unemployment in Spain. To do so, a longitudinal data set containing information on unemployment recipients during the period 1987‐93 is used. Hazard rates and survival profiles are constructed for the cohorts of unemployed workers entering the benefit system at different points in time, and a logit model of the probability of leaving the system before exhausting entitlement period is presented. The results do not support the view that the unemployed tend to intensify their job search when benefits are near exhaustion.
Co‐determination and Personnel Turnover: The German Experience
Authors: Frick Bernd
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT: It has often been argued, that within the German system of co‐determination the works council has an unparalleled participative role, which goes well beyond any voice function of trade unions in the Anglo Saxon tradition. Nevertheless, there is surprisingly little empirical evidence, whether and to what extent works councils influence employers’dismissal and employees’quit decisions.

Analyzing a representative sample of private sector firms that have to obey the Dismissal Protection Act of 1969 and the Works Constitution Act of 1972, the paper finds that firms with a works council have an annual dismissal rate which is 1.6 percentage points lower than the one experienced by firms wthout a plant‐level interest representation. At the same time, firms with a works council have a quit rate which is 1.5 percentage points lower than the one in firms without such interest representation. Union density, on the other hand, has no statistically significant influence on either the dismissal or the quit rate. Apparently, it is the works councils that in both cases act as a collective “voice institution”, serving as a direct channel of communication between workers and management.

Although it is difficult to reach a safe conclusion about the net economic impact of works councils on the employment behavior of firms, the findings lend some support to the following assumption: since hiring and training costs are usually higher than firing costs, firms on average benefit from the presence of a works council with regard to their user costs of labor: the “savings” due to avoided voluntary quits apparently more than compensate for the additional spendings for severance payments and the costs of co‐determination.
Subsidies on Labour and Capital under Wage Bargaining
Authors: Osstbye Stein
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT: Micro‐policy instruments are often grouped into labour subsidies and capital subsidies. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect on employment of labour and capital subsidies when the wage rate is endogeneous. The problem is studied within a sequential three‐stage model, integrating the investment decision, wage‐bargaining and the employment decision. The paper demonstrates that labour subsidies may fail, depending on technology and the risk aversion of the workers.
Carnivore Repatriation and Holarctic Prey: Narrowing the Deficit in Ecological Effectiveness
Authors: BERGER JOEL
Published: June 2007

Abstract: The continuing global decline of large carnivores has catalyzed great interest in reintroduction to restore populations and to reestablish ecologically functional relationships. I used variation in the distribution of four Holarctic prey species and their behavior as proxies to investigate the pace and intensity by which responses are lost or reinvigorated by carnivore repatriation. By simulating the presence of wolves (Canis lupus), tigers (Panthera tigris), and brown bears (Ursus arctos) at 19 transcontinental sites, I assayed three metrics of prey performance in areas with no large terrestrial carnivores (the polar islands of Greenland and Svalbard), extant native carnivores (Eastern Siberian Shield, boreal Canada, and Alaska); and repatriated carnivores (the Yellowstone region and Rocky Mountains). The loss and reestablishment of large carnivores changed the ecological effectiveness of systems by (1) dampening immediate group benefits, diminishing awareness, and diminishing flight reaction in caribou (Rangifer tarandus) where predation was eliminated and (2) reinstituting sensitivity to carnivores by elk (Cervus elaphus) and moose (Alces alces) in the Yellowstone region to levels observed in Asian elk when sympatric with Siberian tigers and wolves or in Alaskan moose sympatric with wolves. Behavioral compensation to reintroduced carnivores occurred within a single generation, but only the vigilance reaction of bison (Bison bison) in Yellowstone exceeded that of their wolf‐exposed conspecifics from boreal Canada. Beyond these overt responses by prey, snow depth and distance to suitably vegetated habitat was related to heightened vigilance in moose and elk, respectively, but only at sites with carnivores. These findings are insufficient to determine whether similar patterns might apply to other species or in areas with alien predators, and they suggest that the presumed excessive vulnerability of naïve prey to repatriated carnivores may be ill‐founded. Although behavior offers a proxy to evaluate ecological effectiveness, a continuing challenge will be to understand how naïve prey respond to novel or introduced predators.
In Vivo EPR Estimation of Bilateral Hippocampal Antioxidant Ability of Rats with Epileptogenesis Induced by Amygdalar FeCl3 Microinjection
Authors: Ueda Yuto , Yokoyama Hidekatsu , Nakajima Akira , Takaki Mayuko , Nagatomo Keiko , Doi Taku , Willmore L. James
Published: June 2007

Summary:  Purpose: To measure the neural antioxidant function in the hippocampus of rats with epileptogenesis induced by microinjection of FeCl3 into the amygdala using the decay rate of the nitroxide radical as estimated by L‐band electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy.

Materials and Methods: Region‐selected intensity determination (RSID) was used for the estimation of the nitroxide decay ratio. It is possible to estimate the in vivo hippocampal antioxidant ability using the half‐life of the EPR signal of the blood–brain barrier‐permeable nitroxide radical. Rats were microinjected with aqueous FeCl3 into the right amygdaloid body. Recording from chronically implanted depth electrodes showed the development of spike discharges with recurrent seizures arising from amygdalar regions with propagation into both hippocampi. Rats with unilateral aqueous FeCl3 lesions were injected systemically with the nitroxide radical and then had EPR for RSID estimation at 5, 15, and 30 days after the iron salt injection.

Results: The in vivo antioxidant ability of the dorsal hippocampus was significantly decreased bilaterally in animals with FeCl3‐induced seizures when compared to the control.

Conclusion: Neural antioxidant function in the hippocampi of rats with chronic seizures induced by amygdalar FeCl3was decreased early and both ipsilaterally and bilaterally.