bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Prevalence of overactive bladder in Asian men: an epidemiological survey
Authors: Moorthy P. , Lapitan M.C. , Quek P.L.C. , Lim P.H.C.
Published: February 2004

OBJECTIVE

To study the epidemiology of overactive bladder (OAB) and the influence of demographic factors on its incidence in Asian men.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

A survey based on a self‐administered questionnaire (locally translated in participating countries) was conducted between March 1998 and May 1998 to quantify the prevalence of OAB in a random sample of men (2369, aged 18–70+ years) visiting other than urology clinics in 26 centres in 11 Asian countries. The questionnaire was divided into two parts, i.e. social and demographic factors, and OAB symptoms. For OAB the questionnaire primarily focused on symptoms, degree of bother and treatment measures. The degree of bother was quantified by classifying it as mild, moderate and severe. The statistical relationship between demographics and OAB was assessed using the chi‐square independent test.

RESULTS

The prevalence of OAB was 29.9% (709 men); OAB was more common in professional workers (43%), the high‐income group (26%, income of > US$ 800) and urban dwellers (64%). With increasing age the incidence of OAB increased, i.e. the prevalence was 53% in men aged > 70 years; the family history and type of toilets used had some relationship with OAB. Frequency (37%), urgency (34%), and frequency and urgency (10%) were the most common symptoms of OAB. Urge incontinence symptoms were reported by 13%. Some degree of bother was recorded in 32% of those with OAB, of whom only 5.9% received treatment for their OAB, with general practitioners and specialists being preferred equally.

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of OAB in Asian men is high and more common in older patients. The treatment rate for the symptoms was much lower than in western countries, suggesting a need for better education of patients and more research for effectively managing the OAB.
Nocturnal polyuria in community‐dwelling women
Authors: Swithinbank L.V. , Vestey S. , Abrams P.
Published: February 2004

In this section there are papers describing studies into nocturnal polyuria, the overactive bladder in Asian men and the use of extracorporeal magnetic stimulation for female urinary incontinence. There are also papers which evaluate the cost implications of microwave thermotherapy, the accumulation of proteoglycans in prostatic hyperplasia, and the presentation and management of urethral calculi. The last two papers in this section have nothing directly to do with the lower urinary tract. Indeed, they do not fit into any of the groups of papers in the journal but I felt that they were of general interest to the readership of the BJU International, and so felt they could really be put into any section!

OBJECTIVE

To determine the age prevalence of nocturnal polyuria among older women in the community, and to investigate the relationship between nocturnal polyuria and nocturia.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

In all, 1183 women aged ≥ 50 years, who were registered with a family doctor practice and who had taken part in a prevalence study, were sent brief questionnaires and a frequency/volume chart (FVC) to complete.

RESULTS

There were 227 FVCs with adequate data and 264 completed questionnaires available for analysis. The prevalence of nocturnal polyuria increased disproportionately with age. There was no clear relationship between nocturia or nocturnal polyuria and daytime frequency, nor was there a clear relationship between diuretic use and nocturnal polyuria.

CONCLUSION

Nocturnal polyuria is common among women in the community and not obviously related to daytime frequency. Night‐time symptoms are common in women as well as men, and are troublesome to them.
The sexual habits of British men and women over 40 years old
Authors: Eardley I. , Dean J. , Barnes T. , Kirby M. , Glasser D. , Solanki J.
Published: February 2004

The first study in this section was conducted to give a better understanding of the sexual habits of men and women over 40 years old in the UK. This large population‐based study has provided the first report on the frequency and timing of sexual activity in British men and women; it also suggested that there were subtle differences in attitudes between men and women.

OBJECTIVE

To obtain a greater understanding of sexual behaviour and habits among men with and without erectile dysfunction (ED), and their female partners, to improve the management of ED in heterosexual men.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

A population‐based study was conducted amongst men and women aged > 40 years. None of the subjects were partners in the same sexual relationship. Interviews were conducted on the Internet via a panel‐based questionnaire.

RESULTS

In all, 225 (32%) men had self‐reported ED and 88 (26%) women reported that their partner had ED. For all men (with or without ED) the mean time from first thinking of intercourse to beginning intercourse was just under 1 h. During their most recent period of sexual activity, 87% of men with and 78% of men without ED had intercourse with ejaculation at most once within 24 h; 81% of men and 89% of women felt that it was neither very nor extremely important to have intercourse with ejaculation more than once in a 24‐h period.

CONCLUSIONS

This study reports for the first time the frequency of sexual activity in British men and women in heterosexual relationships, and describes the usual timings of sexual events. Few significant differences were identified between men with or with no ED.
Involvement of signal transducing GTP‐binding proteins in renal artery α1‐adrenoceptor mediated smooth muscle contraction
Authors: Karsten A.J. , Eckert R.E.
Published: February 2004

OBJECTIVE

To determine the participation of GTP‐binding proteins (G‐proteins) in the cellular mechanism of the phenylephrine‐induced renal artery vasospasm by using swine renal artery smooth muscle rings in a standard organ baths, as increased noradrenaline release from perivasal and intramural sympathetic nerve endings during renal ischaemia results in increased vascular smooth muscle tone that is important in the loss of kidney function during renal transplantation and nephron‐sparing surgery.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Fresh swine kidneys were transported in cold calcium‐free Tyrode solution to the laboratory. Adipose tissue around the arteries was removed, the organ de‐capsulated and interlobar arteries dissected. The contractile properties of renal artery smooth muscle rings were assessed in a standard organ bath, the rings pre‐tensioned at 2 g. Contractions were evoked by applying the α1‐adrenoceptor selective agonist phenylephrine (1 nmol/L to 0.3 mmol/L). Isometric contractions of the tissue were registered and stored digitally. Dose‐response curves were obtained sequentially with a wash‐out of 20 min between each concentration; the maximum contractility of an individual muscle ring was set at 100%. Dose‐response curves of inhibitory agents (e.g. WB4101, cholera and pertussis toxins) were determined by comparing the remaining contractility after incubating with the respective drug with a control contraction that was evoked three times (10 µmol/L phenylephrine) and the mean set at 100%.

RESULTS

Phenylephrine induced dose‐dependent and fully reversible isometric contractions with a threshold concentration of 100 nmol/L and an EC50 of 0.8 µmol/L. The receptor was identified as the α1A‐subtype by the selective antagonist WB4101. Pre‐treatment of tissue rings with 5 µg/mL pertussis toxin (120 min, 37 °C) inhibited the control contraction by a mean (sem) of 52.0 (4.6)%, whereas pre‐treatment with 1 µg/mL cholera toxin (60 min, 37 °C), leading to a permanent activation of the GS‐protein via blockade of the GTPase activity, decreased the response by 39.0 (8.2)%.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest a coupling of α1A‐adrenoceptors in renal vascular tissue to the heterotrimeric GS‐protein and to heterotrimeric G‐proteins of the GI‐ and/or GO‐family in the phenylephrine‐induced contraction.
Epstein‐Barr virus infection in urothelial transitional cell carcinoma tissues
Authors: Chuang C.‐K. , Liao S.‐K.
Published: February 2004

OBJECTIVE

To explore a possible correlation of Epstein‐Barr virus (EBV) infection with urothelial tumours, as the mutation of oncogenes, inactivation of tumour suppressor genes and viral infections may be important in the tumorigenesis of urothelial tumours, and EBV has been implicated in the pathogenesis of a variety of lymphoproliferative disorders and several epithelial neoplasms.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In all, 104 surgical specimens of transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) were obtained from urological operating rooms, fixed in 10% buffered formalin and processed for in situ hybridization using DNA probes, to locate the signal of EBV‐encoded RNAs (EBERs). Immunohistochemistry with antibodies against CD20 and EBV‐encoded latent membrane protein‐1 (LMP‐1) was used on EBER‐positive tumour specimens.

RESULTS

Thirty‐one tumour specimens were positive for EBER hybridization in 100 evaluable specimens. Of these positive specimens, 21 were positive in both the infiltrating B lymphocytes and TCC tumour cells, seven only in B lymphocytes and three only in TCC cells. Of 31 EBER‐positive tumour tissues, 26 (84%) had LMP‐1, suggesting that EBER is more sensitive than LMP‐1 for detecting EBV infection.

CONCLUSION

There is a strong association between EBV infection and a significant proportion of primary urothelial TCC tumour cells.
Increased and localized accumulation of chondroitin sulphate proteoglycans in the hyperplastic human prostate
Authors: Cardoso L.E.M. , Falcão P.G. , Sampaio F.J.B.
Published: February 2004

OBJECTIVE

To analyse by immunohistochemistry the expression of chondroitin sulphate (CS) (detected in the hyperplastic prostate and possibly affecting the proliferation of prostate cells) in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) to determine its distribution and location.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Samples of BPH were obtained from 11 patients (aged 58–83 years) and controls consisting of the transitional zone of five prostates from young men aged 19–27 years. Tissue sections were labelled with antibodies against CS, perlecan, type IV collagen, laminin, and smooth muscle cell (SMC) α‐actin. The amount of CS immunostaining was estimated by semi‐quantitative scoring and correlated with prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) level and prostate size.

RESULTS

The anti‐CS antibody faintly stained the stroma of normal prostates, but in BPH samples the staining was intense and concentrated around acini, including the periphery of adjacent SMCs. This staining pattern was totally absent in the normal samples. Type IV collagen, perlecan and laminin were homogeneously distributed in the whole stroma of both normal and BPH samples. There was no significant correlation between intensity of CS staining and either PSA or prostate size.

CONCLUSIONS

The expression of CS proteoglycans is increased in BPH, where they co‐locate with basement membranes of the acinar epithelium and of peri‐acinar SMCs. This enhanced expression is specific for these proteoglycans, as other basement membrane components are unaffected, and this may result from the regulatory effects of local factors that are active in BPH.
The cost of feedback microwave thermotherapy compared with transurethral resection of the prostate for treating benign prostatic hyperplasia
Authors: Kobelt G. , Spångberg A. , Mattiasson A.
Published: February 2004

OBJECTIVE

To compare the efficacy of a new microwave thermotherapy for treating benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), the ProstaLund Feedback Treatment (PLFT®, ProstaLund Operations AB, Lund, Sweden) and transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) in a clinical trial to their effectiveness in clinical practice over 1 year, to estimate their cost over 1 year, and to evaluate the cost of re‐interventions over a longer period (2–3 years).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

In a large randomized international 1‐year clinical trial PLFT was as effective as TURP in improving symptoms of BPH and urinary flow. Because PLFT is an outpatient procedure it was less costly than TURP. However, the cost‐effectiveness of the new procedure depends on its long‐term effectiveness in clinical practice. All 146 patients in the randomized clinical trial were included in the present analysis. The outcome was based on the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and the bother score, and costs were estimated from treatment‐related adverse events and hospitalization. To validate the estimates based on the clinical trial 1‐year data on effectiveness and complete resource use in clinical practice were collected in a retrospective observational study from hospital charts and patient questionnaires of 88 patients who had undergone either TURP or PLFT. To assess the number of re‐interventions after TURP after the first year information was obtained from hospital and surgical procedure data in the Swedish inpatient registry. The 3‐year data for a total of 52 010 patients who had an index hospitalization for TURP between 1990 and 1995 were available for the analysis. The estimate of long‐term consequences of PLFT was based on complication and re‐intervention data for 87 patients who had undergone PLFT between 1997 and 1999.

RESULTS

The mean 1‐year costs in the clinical trial were estimated at €1763 for PLFT and €3209 for TURP. When all treatment‐related resource use in clinical practice for 88 patients was included the costs were estimated at €1924 and €3264 for PLFT and TURP, respectively. The IPSS and bother scores were not significantly different between the groups in both datasets. Using the registry data the cost of TURP including re‐interventions (TURP and bladder neck incisions) was estimated at €3159 over 2 years and €3185 over 3 years; the respective costs for PLFT were €2121 and at €2151.

CONCLUSIONS

In the 1‐year clinical trial PLFT was as effective but less costly than TURP, but long‐term data are still lacking. However, the preliminary analysis over 3 years indicates that the average cost of the procedure remains lower than the total cost of TURP for the same period.
Sling procedures for urinary incontinence in women
Authors: Kassardjian Z.G.
Published: February 2004

There are many different techniques of sling surgery for female incontinence and numerous materials are available for use as a suburethral sling. Autologous materials are associated with more success and fewer complications than cadaveric material. The objectives of this review are to identity the benefits and adverse effects of suburethral sling procedures. There is no evidence that suburethral slings are better or worse than other surgical or conservative management because no trials have addressed this comparison.
Modern Costing Innovations and Legitimation: A Health Care Study
Authors: Arnaboldi Michela , Lapsley Irvine
Published: February 2004

This article is a study of the introduction of a modern costing technology—activity based costing (ABC)—into a health care organization which is undergoing change. The transformation of this organization is of particular interest as it focused on the experience of a service which had always existed by collecting blood, which is given as a free donation (the gift), and which is then converted into a variety of health care products. Typically, accounting innovations in the U.K.'s National Health Service are at the behest of central government: In this case, the adoption of ABC is on the initiative of the health care organization itself. The attractiveness of the specific costing approach from the perspective of the management of this health care organization is as an ingredient in legitimation—the portrayal of this entity as a ‘complete organization’.
The Impact of the Type of Accounting Standards on Preparers’ Judgments
Authors: Psaros Jim , Trotman Ken T.
Published: February 2004

This article examines preparers’ consolidation judgments and how they are impacted by the precision of accounting standards (substance‐over‐form versus rules‐based). The examination is performed via two laboratory experiments in a consolidated accounting setting. In Experiment 1 it was found that when subjects used a substance‐over‐form accounting standard they justified their consolidation judgments on case specific information rather than on different interpretations of the phrase ‘capacity to control’. In Experiment 2 it was found that when subjects used a rules‐based standard, incentives were found to impact on accountants’ consolidation judgments and more aggressive judgments were made through their assessments of case specific information. Comparison of the judgments made in Experiment 1 with one of the treatment groups in Experiment 2 enabled a comparison to be made of consolidation judgments of subjects under both substance‐over‐form and rules‐based accounting standards. While both groups had the same incentive not to consolidate, marginally significantly more subjects using the rules‐based standard did not consolidate than subjects using the substance‐over‐form standard. This finding is contrary to anecdotal claims that the imprecision of substance‐over‐form standards may be less effective in stopping biased financial reporting than rules‐based standards.
Judgment and Decision Making in Project Continuation: A Study of Students as Surrogates for Experienced Managers
Authors: Chang C. Janie , Ho Joanna L. Y.
Published: February 2004

This work explores the efficacy of using students as surrogates for experienced managers in escalation studies. Participants were 222 managers with substantial project planning and evaluation experience and 146 undergraduate business students. Our results show that the experienced managers exhibited a strong tendency to continue projects, with this tendency being positively related to the degree of project completion. The managers also tended to invest a greater amount of additional resources in response to favourable rather than to unfavourable information, contingent on the degree of project completion. In contrast, the students’ decisions showed little sensitivity to the contextual information, and they exhibited no association between the likelihood they would continue a project and how much funding they would allocate to the project. These results suggest that caution is needed in generalizing student‐based escalation findings to real‐world business settings.
Applying Conceptual Framework Principles to Superannuation1 Fund Accounting
Authors: Gallery Gerry , Gallery Natalie
Published: February 2004

The Australian accounting standard AAS 25, Financial Reporting by Superannuation Plans, was the first pension accounting standard internationally to apply established conceptual framework (CF) principles. In Australia those principles have guided standard setting for more than a decade. However, AAS 25 has been criticized for failing to provide useful financial information. The analysis provided in this article addresses this paradox. The findings reveal major anomalies in AAS 25 associated with the treatment of accrued benefits that distort financial position and performance measures. The conceptual flaws in the standard are attributed to the misapplication of CF principles and an absence of adequate guidance in the CF for non‐corporate entities such as superannuation funds. Distorted financial information produced by superannuation plans has potential undesirable taxation and social outcomes. Consequently, there is an urgent need to update the Australian and international conceptual frameworks to provide guidance for revising accounting standards that better reflect current fiduciary and ownership relationships in non‐corporate entities such as superannuation funds.
The Profits of the Dutch East India Company's Japan Trade
Authors: Camfferman Kees , Cooke Terence E.
Published: February 2004

This article analyses the eighteenth‐century accounting practices of the Japanese trading station or factory of the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oost‐Indische Compagnie or VOC). The factory's trade and its reported profits declined during the eighteenth century, but because of the complexity of the accounting issues involved, contemporaries held different views on whether the accounting data supported a continuation of the factory's operations. For similar reasons, some historians have argued that the maintenance of the factory in the face of declining profits illustrates the poor quality of the VOC's management, while others have argued in favour of the economic viability of the factory. The purpose of this article is to a more comprehensive analysis of the accounting issues facing the Japanese factory present in the eighteenth century than offered to date, in order to propose a way in which the accounting records may be approached as a source of data for historical research.

The conclusions are twofold. First, there were three main accounting issues facing the factory that should be considered when interpreting the accounting records. These issues can be summarized as transfer pricing, currency translation and overhead allocation. While all these issues have been recognized in the literature at some stage, they have never been considered in combination. Second, we tentatively conclude that if the recorded accounting figures are adjusted as proposed, they support the view that keeping the factory open was a correct decision from a commercial point of view.
Stock Price Response to News of Securities Fraud Litigation: An Analysis of Sequential and Conditional Information
Authors: Griffin Paul A. , Grundfest Joseph A. , Perino Michael A.
Published: February 2004

This study examines investor response to three events that help define a federal class action securities lawsuit, specifically, the announcement that names an issuer as a defendant in the lawsuit (at the class action filing date), the disclosure or accounting restatement that ‘corrects’ the information deficiency (at the end of the class period), and the date at which the fraud on the market allegedly begins (at the beginning of the class period). We document a significant and predictable stock price response at each of these three events. Our tests also indicate that the market interprets these events not in isolation but as sequential and conditional events. Investor response differs on the basis of the characteristics of the issuer, the allegations in the complaint, and the outcome of the litigation. These results and the fact that we observe no systematic price momentum in investor response beyond the announcement dates imply that the market is reasonably efficient with respect to information about securities fraud litigation. Our results are robust to alternative definitions and procedures, and are based on a proprietary database that includes almost all federal securities class action lawsuits since 1990.
Income Diversity, Technology Choice and Agricultural Research Policy in Sub‐Saharan Africa
Authors: Sumberg James , Gilbert Elon , Blackie Malcolm
Published: February 2004

This article makes an initial analysis of the implications of income diversification for technical change and agricultural research policy in Africa, leading to two insights. First, that the dilution effect of income diversification means that, as the proportion of non‐farm income increases, so must the expected gains from adopting a new agricultural technology. Second, that diversified producers will face disproportionately large transactions costs associated with information acquisition to inform technology choice decisions. Two hypotheses about how diversified producers are likely to react are then explored. Both point to the conclusion that income diversification among the poor is likely to constrain significantly the direct poverty impacts of agricultural research. The policy implications of these findings are then considered.
Livelihoods and Rural Poverty Reduction in Kenya
Authors: Ade Freeman H. , Ellis F. , Allison E.
Published: February 2004

This article describes research linking micro‐level outcomes to macro‐level strategies with respect to rural poverty reduction in Kenya. It is set against a background in which a new government, elected at the end of 2002, is wrestling with how to break away decisively from previously unfavourable norms in the conduct of public life. The research undertaken in ten villages in Suba and Bomet districts in 2001 and 2002 confirms governance problems as having a broadly debilitating effect on rural livelihoods. Rolling back this pattern of public service behaviour needs to be made a priority; otherwise national goals to improve education, health and the transport infrastructure will reap significantly lower gains than are potentially possible.
Unintended Consequences of Land Rights Reform: The Case of the 1998 Uganda Land Act
Authors: Hunt Diana
Published: February 2004

Empirical studies of land rights privatisation have tended to underemphasise the unintended impacts of land rights reform relative to establishing whether the predicted impacts have occurred. This article, in reviewing some of the unintended consequences of the 1998 Uganda Land Act, draws attention to ways in which intended impacts may be undercut by lack of both consultation and foresight in anticipating responses to new legal provisions and by lack of adequate resourcing of the reform process. It also recognises that unintended outcomes may sometimes reflect appropriate adaptations of legal provisions at the local level, and briefly considers what light the Ugandan experience can throw on recent proposals for Normalisation of informal property rights in the Third World.
Economic Growth, Health and Poverty: An Exploratory Study for India
Authors: Gupta Indrani , Mitra Arup
Published: February 2004

This article analyses the possible links between economic growth, poverty and health, using panel data for the Indian states. The findings indicate that, though growth tends to reduce poverty, significant improvements in health status are also necessary for poverty to decrease. Also, economic growth and health status are positively correlated and have a two‐way relationship, suggesting that better health enhances growth by improving productivity, and higher growth allows better human capital formation. Health expenditure is an important determinant of both higher growth and better health status, and is therefore a key tool available to policy‐makers. Among other exogenous variables, literacy and industrialisation seem to improve both health outcomes and growth, and to reduce poverty.
The Scope for Fiscal Policy: A Case Study of Thailand
Authors: Jansen Karel
Published: February 2004

This article is concerned with the application of fiscal policy instruments in stabilisation policy. Theoretical and practical considerations suggest that the scope for fiscal policy may be limited, but analysis of the actual performance of Thailand shows that an active use has been made of it. Compared with advanced economies, the role of automatic stabilisers is relatively small; discretionary fiscal policy interventions have been more important. Particularly in the years after the Asian financial crisis fiscal policy has been actively used, first, under IMF programmes, to reduce aggregate demand, and later to stimulate the economy. The article focuses on the application of fiscal policy instruments, not on the impact of fiscal policy interventions on the real economy.
Monitoring Partnership‐based Aid Relationships: A Note
Authors: Killick Tony
Published: February 2004

Based on the premise that moves towards partnership‐based aid relationships require that the monitoring and evaluation of such relationships should be jointly conducted or sponsored, this note draws attention to an experiment conducted in Tanzania for monitoring by an independent group, drawn from the recipient country and from outside. It seeks to identify the key ingredients of successful use of such a model and urges its wider adoption.
The Single Market and Geographic Concentration in Europe
Authors: Aiginger Karl , Pfaffermayr Michael
Published: February 2004

The stylized fact that regional concentration is lower in Europe than in the USA has led to the prediction that the creation of the Single Market might increase spatial concentration in Europe. This has raised some fears that the social and political burden of rapid change might counterbalance the economic gains, that the core might win to the detriment of the periphery, and that concentration of industry might make countries more vulnerable to asymmetric shocks in the Monetary Union. This paper uses a new disaggregated dataset to substantiate whether spatial concentration increased during the 1990s. Most other studies have not extended beyond the early 1990s or have used less comprehensive and detailed datasets. The main result is that geographic concentration did not increase, but rather decreased during the 1990s. Industrial patterns of geographic concentration and its dynamics partly conformed to the hypotheses provided by economic geography, trade theory, and industrial organization.
Conjectural Variations, Market Power, and Optimal Trade Policy in a Vertically Related Industry
Authors: Chang Winston W. , Sugeta Hajime
Published: February 2004

The paper introduces the conjectural variations and bargaining approaches into a vertical model wherein a foreign upstream firm supplies one input to two downstream firms that produce differentiated products for the export market. Various downstream firms’ competition modes and upstream's pricing schemes emerge as special cases of this formulation. The authors show that the optimal export policy of a downstream country depends crucially on the downstream firms’ conjectures of rivals’ responses, the upstream firm's pricing schemes, their relative bargaining powers, and the degree of product differentiation. If the upstream's pricing or bargaining power is strong (weak) and if the downstream's degree of competition is high (low), a tax (subsidy) is optimal owing to a strong (weak) vertical profit‐shifting effect and a weak (strong) horizontal effect.
The Political Economy of the “Minimum‐Wage Institution” in an Internationally Integrated Market
Authors: Petrakis Emmanuel , Vlassis Minas
Published: February 2004

The paper explores the political economy of the “minimum‐wage institution (MWI)” in an internationally integrated product market. The authors consider a two‐sector Economic Union (EU) with a perfectly competitive agricultural sector and a unionized oligopolistic manufacturing sector in which there exist productivity asymmetries across firms. It is shown that efficient firms have an incentive to strategically opt for intercountry minimum‐wage agreements high enough to raise their inefficient rivals’ costs and thus gain business in equilibrium. The unions of workers in all countries also find these agreements in their best interest. As a consequence, the MWI may emerge as the equilibrium institutional resolution of alternative political processes (i.e., an EU‐wide referendum or special‐interest politics), despite its negative effect on aggregate employment.
International Borrowing, Specialization, and Unemployment in a Small Open Economy
Authors: Osakwe Patrick N. , Shi Shouyong
Published: February 2004

The authors show that an increase in international borrowing increases specialization and unemployment in a small open economy that is subject to terms‐of‐trade risks. The economy has a production advantage in the export sector. However, the size of the export sector is limited by the available funds. To insure workers against income fluctuations arising from terms‐of‐trade risks, firms in the export sector offer workers a stable wage rate with the possibility of unemployment. An increase in international borrowing increases specialization in the export sector, which leads to higher unemployment when the terms‐of‐trade shock is bad. A state‐contingent price subsidy can reduce unemployment without inefficiently reducing specialization. The results are robust to the introduction of risk‐averse firms.
Domestic and Foreign Price/Marginal‐cost Margins: an Application to Spanish Manufacturing Firms
Authors: Moreno Lourdes , Rodríguez Diego
Published: February 2004

The authors investigate the differences in margins of export and domestic markets for Spanish manufacturing firms in the period 1990 to 1997. They estimate jointly a multiproduct cost function, a variable factor share equation, and two price/marginal‐cost margin equations. The results indicate that the marginal cost of production sold in export markets is slightly greater than in domestic markets. At the same time, the price/marginal‐cost margins in export markets are smaller than in domestic markets. There is also strong evidence that margins are procyclical in domestic markets, but this evidence is less clear in foreign markets.
Protection for Sale and Trade Liberalization: an Empirical Investigation
Authors: McCalman Phillip
Published: February 2004

The paper uses Grossman and Helpman's “protection for sale” model (1994) to analyze the process of trade liberalization that has occurred in Australia. First, this paper verifies that the predictions of the “protection for sale” model are consistent with the data. Then, it analyzes the endogenous dimension of the Australian experience of trade liberalization. The estimated structural parameters imply that the process of trade liberalization has been driven by increases in both the fraction of the voting population represented by lobbies, and the government's relative valuation of welfare (the former playing the more prominent role).
Tariff Rate as a Public Good
Authors: Yamazaki Takeshi
Published: February 2004

If domestic firms lobby for protection, the tariff rate is a public good to all domestic firms, whether they engage in lobbying or not. This paper analyzes how the endogenous tariff rate as a public good depends on the group size in two‐stage lobbying models. The result depends not only on whether domestic firms lobby cooperatively or not, but also on whether domestic firms incur indirect lobbying costs or not. This paper shows that if free riding is not very serious and if the number of domestic firms is small compared to the number of foreign firms, entry of a domestic firm is likely to increase the equilibrium tariff rate.
Trade Performances, Product Quality Perceptions, and the Estimation of Trade Price Elasticities
Authors: Crozet Matthieu , Erkel‐Rousse Hélène
Published: February 2004

Traditional trade models ignoring the dimension of product quality generally lead to excessively low trade price elasticities. This paper estimates import market share equations including a quality image proxy derived from survey data. The estimation results, based on panel data for the four main EU member states, confirm the part played by product quality perceptions in the estimation of trade price elasticities, at least for highly differentiated products. Introducing the quality image proxy into the models leads to a significant increase in the price elasticities, which thus become superior to unity, in conformity with theoretical elasticities of substitution.
The Nonequivalence of Import and Export Quotas in Strategic Equilibrium
Authors: Lapan Harvey , Gervais Jean‐Philippe
Published: February 2004

The authors use a standard general‐equilibrium trade model to show that export and import policies are not symmetric in the equilibrium of a strategic game with quotas. It is assumed that N (identical) large countries, without cooperation, set their import (or export) quotas to maximize domestic welfare. It is shown that the equilibrium in which all countries use import quotas differs from, and is superior to, the equilibrium in which countries use export quotas. The difference arises because the elasticity of the residual foreign export supply schedule differs between the two equilibria. The authors also study the properties of the sequential equilibrium of the game. In a simultaneous‐move game, each country is indifferent as to whether it uses an import or export quota, given the policy of the other country. However, in a sequential‐move game, the first mover will prefer to use an import quota rather than an export quota.
Voluntary Export Restraints under Imperfect Competition
Authors: Okawa Masayuki
Published: February 2004

The paper studies the effects of a change in the level of voluntary export restraints (VERs) on the behavior of the domestic firm and on the welfare of the importing country. The author constructs a simple two‐country Cournot duopoly model in which each firm produces a homogeneous good at constant marginal cost. It is shown that the results obtained by predecessors based on linear demand, constant‐elasticity demand, strategic substitutes and so forth all emerge as special cases.
Logic of Aid in an Intertemporal Setting
Authors: Djajić Slobodan , Lahiri Sajal , Raimondos‐Møller Pascalis
Published: February 2004

The paper studies the welfare implications of temporary foreign aid in the context of a simple two‐country model of trade. In addition to its usual effects, a transfer of income in one period is assumed to influence the preferences of the recipient country in the following period. The implied changes in the terms of trade over the two periods are consistent with a number of possible outcomes with respect to the intertemporal welfare of the donor, the recipient, and the world as a whole. Particular attention is devoted to the conditions for strict Pareto improvement and the circumstances under which temporary aid transactions are likely to occur.
Half‐lives of Deviations from PPP: Contrasting Traded and Nontraded Components of Consumption Baskets
Authors: Kim Jaebeom
Published: February 2004

The paper examines the convergence question by contrasting the half‐lives of deviations from purchasing power parity (PPP) across traded and nontraded goods in an exchange rate model with sticky prices. In particular, empirical results show that in most cases the half‐lives of PPP deviations for traded goods are shorter than those for total consumption and for nontraded goods.
The Two‐Mode Problem: Second‐Best Pricing and Capacity
Authors: Arnott Richard , Yan An
Published: February 2004

Suppose that there are two congestible modes of travel from A to B — road and rail for concreteness — which are imperfect substitutes in demand. Road congestion from A to B is underpriced; this is an unalterable distortion. Compared to the first best, should the transportation planner choose a wider or narrower road, raise or lower the rail fare, and expand or contract rail capacity? This paper provides a synthetic review of the literature on the problem, presents some new results, and discusses directions for future research on this and related second‐best problems.
A Theoretical Analysis of Liner Shipping Conferences and Strategic Alliances
Authors: Doi Masayuki , Ohta Hiroshi , Itoh Hidekazu
Published: February 2004

We analyze the economic impacts of industrial organizational struggles on the international liner shipping market. Operating ratios of different markets are discussed by incorporating rate, service level, and other variables into a standard microeconomic model. If two different carriers agree on a shipping conference price and/or share a strategic alliance service level, and maximize consolidated profit, a member carrier finds it easier to make its operation profitable than the individual profit optimization case; other carriers are worse off in becoming profitable. If the carriers face inelastic demand, the price continues rising until demand becomes elastic enough for the equilibrium to be relevant. The conference is expected to play a coordination role so that the market does not become unsustainable in the adjustment process to reach equilibrium.
Analyzing Transportation Reconstruction Network Strategies: A Full Cost Approach
Authors: Cho Sungbin , Gordon Peter , Richardson Harry W. , Moore James E. , Shinozuka Masanobu
Published: February 2004

Policymakers interested in evaluating the costs and benefits of earthquake retrofit and reconstruction strategies require a way to measure the benefits (costs avoided) of competing proposals. This requires an integrated, operational model of losses due to earthquake impacts on transportation and industrial capacity, and how these losses affect the metropolitan economy. Our approach to this problem advances the information provided by transportation and activity system analysis techniques in ways that help capture the most important economic implications of earthquakes. These full cost results have four dimensions: structure damage, business interruption, network performance, and infrastructure damage. Preliminary results for all four measures are summarized for a hypothetical magnitude 7.1 earthquake on the Elysian Park blind thrust fault in Los Angeles.
Shareholder Value Creation in European M&As
Authors: Campa José Manuel , Hernando Ignacio
Published: February 2004

This paper looks at the value generated to shareholders by the announcement of mergers and acquisitions involving firms in the European Union over the period 1998–2000. Cumulative abnormal shareholder returns due to the announcement of a merger reflect a revision of the expected value resulting from future synergies or wealth redistribution among stakeholders. Target firm shareholders receive on average a statistically significant cumulative abnormal return of 9% in a one‐month window centred on the announcement date. Acquirers’ cumulative abnormal returns are null on average. When distinguishing in terms of the geographical and sectoral dimensions of the merger deals, our main finding is that mergers in industries that had previously been under government control or that are still heavily regulated generate lower value than M&A announcements in unregulated industries. This low value creation in regulated industries becomes significantly negative when the merger involves two firms from different countries and is primarily due to the lower positive return that shareholders of the target firm enjoy upon the announcement of the merger. This evidence is consistent with the existence of obstacles (such as cultural, legal, or transaction barriers) to the successful conclusion of this type of transaction, which lessen the probability of the merger actually being completed as announced and, therefore, reduce its expected value.
Target Company Cross‐border Effects in Acquisitions into the UK
Authors: Danbolt Jo
Published: February 2004

We analyse the abnormal returns to target shareholders in cross‐border and domestic acquisitions of UK companies. The cross‐border effect during the bid month is small (0.84%), although cross‐border targets gain significantly more than domestic targets during the months surrounding the bid. We find no evidence for the level of abnormal returns in cross‐border acquisitions to be associated with market access or exchange rate effects, and only limited support for an international diversification effect. However, the cross‐border effect appears to be associated with significant payment effects, and there is no significant residual cross‐border effect once various bid characteristics are controlled for.
Explaining M&A Success in European Banks
Authors: Beitel Patrick , Schiereck Dirk , Wahrenburg Mark
Published: February 2004

We study 98 large M&As of European bidding banks from 1985 to 2000 in order to investigate drivers of excess returns to the shareholders of the targets, the bidders, and to the combined entity of the bidder and the target. Our findings show that many of 13 drivers identified mostly from prior, US‐focused research have significant explanatory power, indicating that the stock market reaction to M&A announcements of European bidding banks can be at least partly forecast. Our results are largely consistent with the US‐experience and confirm the preference of stock markets for focused transactions and against diversification. Moreover, we find that less active bidders create more value than more active/experienced bidders. This stands in contrast to some US research and may indicate that managers of frequent European bidding banks may be motivated by other objectives than creating shareholder value.
Dynamics in Ownership and Firm Survival: Evidence from Corporate Germany
Authors: Heiss Florian , Köke Jens
Published: February 2004

This study investigates the determinants of changes in corporate ownership and firm failure for German firms. We find that many of the determinants of failure also affect ownership changes in this bank‐based economy. They include poor performance, weak corporate governance, high leverage, and small firm size. The ownership structure also plays a role for both events. Separate analyses of one of these events are therefore likely to miss important effects. The implications for the German corporate governance system are that the differences to countries with more market‐based systems are not as pronounced as previously speculated.
‘Why are my friends changing?’ Explaining dementia to people with learning disabilities
Authors: Lynggaard Henrik , Alexander Natasha
Published: February 2004

There are many publications that seek to explain the causes and effects of dementia for the non‐learning disabled population and there is evidence of the benefit of supporting carers and of establishing support groups. However, there is much less published material aimed at people with learning disabilities, and little focus on the specific needs of people who share their homes and lives with other people with learning disabilities who develop dementia. This article is based on group work with residents who had expressed bewilderment at the gradual changes they were witnessing in two of their housemates with dementia with whom they had shared a home and friendships over many years. Employing a wide range of visual aids, equipment, role plays and exercises, we sought to make the explanation of dementia as accessible and concrete as possible. The group also provided a forum for the residents to talk about the effects of living with others who develop dementia. Evaluation showed how a relatively short intervention can result in positive changes for both the people with learning disabilities who develop dementia and their peers.
Communicating with the uncommunicative: music therapy with pre‐verbal adults
Authors: Graham Janet
Published: February 2004

This paper is based on a qualitative research project on clinical work carried out at a residential unit for adults with learning disability. Most pre‐verbal and nonverbal adults appear able to express emotions such as pain and anger with sounds such as crying, screaming or shouting. These sounds, however, are not always received as communication by care staff and can sometimes lead to further isolation. In addition, some clients make sounds, which seem intended to be self‐reassuring or comforting and have become habitual and used as a barrier against others. This study centres on two examples of music therapy with pre‐verbal clients where vocalization is used to establish an interactive relationship. In both examples, parallels are drawn with the spontaneous and instinctive strategies used in early parent–infant communication.
Dog Gone Good: managing dog phobia in a teenage boy with a learning disability
Authors: Newman Craig , Adams Katie
Published: February 2004

This is a case study of a 17‐year‐old boy with a moderate learning disability who had a severe phobia of dogs. A systematic desensitization approach with relaxation and modelling was used to manage his phobic response to dogs. A hierarchy of fear was identified, and progress was made by increasing the level of exposure to dogs whilst controlling for anxiety levels. Results showed that after 28 sessions (980 min), M.V. (the client) was able to manage his both behaviour and anxiety level when in contact with unfamiliar loose dogs. The study highlighted the importance of selecting an appropriate model and brought into light some ethical concerns in working with young people who have fears of possibly dangerous animals such as dogs.