Heroin Consumption,Prices and Addiction: Evidence from Self‐reported Panel Data*

Estimation models of drug demand should encompass the aspect of addiction. Here, we consider two static panel data regression models and two cross‐section models with lags or leads in drug consumption as additional regressors. Heroin injectors attending a needle exchange service in Oslo were interviewed twice, with a one‐year interval. Despite our relatively small sample, we obtain statistically significant price and income responses for nearly all of the models and specifications applied. The sample is split by dealing status, with dealers obtaining price elasticities in the range of [?0.15, ?1.51] and non‐dealers [?0.71, ?1.69]. Somewhat surprisingly, the estimates of the variance of the latent individual‐specific variable are rather low in the panel data models, although higher for non‐dealers than for dealers.     

Trends in disposable income among teenage boys and girls in Finland from 1977 to 2003

This article explores changes in the money Finnish young people aged 12–18 years have at their disposal, over a 26‐year period 1977–2003. Previous studies suggest that the amount of money young people have is not necessarily dependent on traditional socio‐economic variables, but there are no systematic studies on the development of the disposable income of the teenagers. The analyses of this study are based on a series of 14 biannual nationally representative surveys of 12‐, 14‐, 16‐ and 18‐year‐olds in Finland from 1977 to 2003, with a total of 84 404 respondents. Time‐trends are shown and analysed by gender, family structure, place of residence and socio‐economic status of family using analysis of variance and linear regression modelling. The results show that teenagers’ disposable money has increased little between 1977 and 2003 in comparison with the general income development. Economic booms and depressions can be seen in rising and falling amounts of disposal money, particularly among 16‐ to 18‐year‐old respondents. There were also significant differences between the genders. Young boys clearly had more money at their disposal than young girls. Children of single parents had more money than their peers from nuclear families. Urban youth had more money than those living in the countryside and the difference increased during the period under examination. The socio‐economic position of the family had little impact.     

Industry influences on strategy reformulation

This paper emphasizes the contribution of ‘borrowed experience’ to strategy reformulation. The industry group is described as a particularly important arena in which niche-related problems and solutions are identified and tested. Industry-wide mistakes in environmental interpretation and strategic response provide interesting evidence of the importance of this contribution to organizational decision making. An industry oriented view of strategy reformulation requires two kinds of research which are rarely conducted today. We need to know more about the pool of strategic concepts which a group of organizations holds in common at any given time. Spender's study of fork-lift truck rental companies is reviewed as an example of this kind of work. A second kind of needed research involves change in strategic concepts over time. A study of the perceived import threat to the appliance industry from 1950 to 1975 is summarized as an example of this second kind of research.     

The Impact of the Welfare State on the Economic Status of Indigenous Australian Women

This article uses census data and Department of Social Security administrative records to examine the role of social security income in explaining the growth and relative improvement in the income status of indigenous Australian women. The real median income of indigenous women was 81 per cent of that of non-indigenous women in 1991 compared with 74 per cent in 1976. Much of the change has come about from an improvement in the position of indigenous women who were not in employment. The article argues that much of this improvement can be attributed to increased access to social security benefits for indigenous women and therefore needs to be qualified by the circumstances in which these women live.     

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES AND THE SNA

The concept of environmental accounting is developing as the system of national accounts (SNA) is being revised. A basic difference at present is that environmentalists regard natural resources as assets analogous to man-made capital, whereas they are treated as free gifts of nature in the national accounts. In this paper the author examines the consequences for the SNA of adopting the environmentalists approach to capital.     

Crossfunctional Teams in Product Development: Accommodating the Structure to the Process

This article reports the conclusions from a study of crossfunctional product development teams with emphasis on the implications for altering organizational structure to accommodate team process. A comparative study of teams in four U.S.firms, using anthropological and sociolinguistic methods, found that team work is inherently paradoxical. It poses numerous contradictions and paradoxes for individuals, teams, and organizations. At one of the research sites, tacit recognition of this reality and a conviction that teams were critical to product development led to a continuous accommodation of the organization to the requirements of team work and to impressive organizational outcomes. Conceptual and managerial lessons are drawn from this successful case and are offered here to help guide both future research and the actual implementation of team work in firms.