Book reviews

Valid measures of how people view risks due to combinations of hazards are needed. 320 adult smokers responded to four vignettes in which hypothetical men were described as having high or low levels of (1) smoking and (2) either (a) blood cholesterol or (b) family history of CHD (coronary heart disease). Ratings of the risk of a heart attack were made using one of three different rating scales: (a) nine‐point, (b) 101‐point, and (c) unbounded. The nine‐point scale yielded a strong sub‐additive interaction, the 101‐point scale yielded a weak sub‐additive interaction, and the unbounded scale yielded a weak synergistic interaction. Although respondents preferred the nine‐point scale, evidence from this and other studies suggest that scales with nine points or fewer should not be used to assess perceptions of risks due to multiple hazards.     

The Origin of General Limited Liability in the United Kingdom

This article discusses the introduction of general limited liability into the United Kingdom. This was effected by the independent Irish Government through a Statute it enacted in 1782, commonly referred to as the Anonymous Partnership Act. The article explores the political and economic circumstances of eighteenth century Ireland which led to the passing of the Act. It summarises the provisions of the Act and seeks to highlight the insights which it gives into the nature of the limited partnership form of business organisation. An appendix provides statistics which demonstrate the infrequent use that was made of the Act. The probable reasons for this are discussed. The article concludes by pointing to some general lessons that can perhaps be learned from a study of the history of this Irish experience of employing an innovative commercial form of business organisation.     

Cultures of service: strategies of Scottish grocers, 1915–1965

Studies of retailing have highlighted its long-run evolution, particularly the emergence of multiples. Such developments were a challenge to the market position of independent retailers, especially owners of small shops. Such retailers responded through collective action designed to justify their commercial and social functions and to counteract the competitive threats. Recent studies have emphasised the significance of trade associations and collective action in grocery wholesaling in Britain and Ireland. A substantial literature has documented the activities of trade associations representing English grocers. This paper examines the responses of Scottish grocers to their changing environment between 1915 and 1965. It highlights similarities to associational behaviour in England and Canada in terms of unifying independent traders and articulating their concerns in public and to governments. But it emphasises the limitations of collective action among Scottish grocers, highlighting their subordinate relationship to government and the difficulties of modernising their business methods. Of greater significance was the gradual adjustment of their concept of the service provided by local grocery stores.     

Beliefs underlying chlamydia risk appraisals: the relationship with young adults’ intentions to use condoms

Risk appraisals are identified by many theories of health behaviour as primary motivators of intention and action. However, limited evidence is available on the beliefs underlying risk appraisals. The nature of these beliefs must be understood in order to optimally modify risk appraisals in ways that motivate positive behaviour change. This study uses Cameron’s illness risk representations framework to examine the extent to which beliefs about chlamydia predict risk appraisals and intentions to use condoms with casual sexual partners. A cross-sectional design was used. N?=?921 secondary school and university students aged between 16 and 24?years completed the assessment of illness risk representations which includes measures of illness risk representation components namely identity, cause, timeline, consequences and control. As hypothesised, appraisals of the likelihood of chlamydia infection were positively associated with beliefs that symptoms of infection were present (identity), that exposure to chlamydia had occurred (cause) and that chlamydia affected young people (timeline). Severity appraisals were positively associated with beliefs that chlamydia would lead to pain, psychosocial and fertility consequences (all consequences scales). Contrary to hypotheses, severity appraisals were positively associated with beliefs that infection could be prevented (control over prevention) and cured (control over cure), and not associated with the belief that infection could be treated (control over treatment). Intentions to use condoms with casual sexual partners were predicted by beliefs about control over prevention. In conclusion, Cameron’s framework appears to be useful for examining the content of risk appraisals and isolating beliefs to be targeted through health promotion interventions. The findings have provided new evidence about the basis for young adults’ appraisals of the risk of chlamydia infection. They point to ways in which intentions to use condoms with casual sexual partners could be increased, through for example, developing skills around how to initiate condom use.     

Workplace problems,mental health and substance use

Little is known about how workplace problems may influence diagnosable mental health and substance use (MHSU) disorders. We examine the associations between three common workplace problems (experiencing problems with co-workers, job changes and perceived financial strain) and three MHSU disorders (mood, anxiety and substance abuse/dependence). The analysis utilizes longitudinal data on a sample of working-age adults from the National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. These data are well suited for our research objective as the survey was specifically designed to study MHSU disorders. Results show that experiencing these workplace problems is associated with an increased risk for mental health disorders, but not substance use disorders. Importantly, various robustness checks and sensitivity analyses demonstrate that our findings cannot be not fully explained by omitted variables, reverse causality or sample attrition.     

Judicial approaches to economic analysis in Australia

Although Australia has had State and Federal antitrust laws for most of the twentieth century, its antitrust jurisprudence has only developed significantly since the enactment of theTrade PracticesAct 1974. Judges have had to come to grips with economic concepts not readily amenable to syllogistic reasoning and traditional fact finding processes. There has been increasing sophistication in judicial reasoning in the area of competition law. However restrictions placed by the rules of evidence upon the role of expert economists have attracted criticism. A new rule of court enables such testimony to be received by way of argument or submission rather than as evidence. This reflects the evaluative and normative nature of many of the judgments required under competition laws. It also provides an opportunity for a more fruitful and constructive interaction between economists and the judiciary in the application of such laws.     

Does Price Discreteness Affect the Increase in Return Volatility Following Stock Splits?

Stock return volatility tends to increase significantly following stock splits. One potential cause of this is the trading of stocks in discrete price intervals called ticks. This study provides a direct test of price discreteness as a determinant of this phenomenon by examining variance increases before and after the 1997 date when the exchanges reduced the tick size from 1/8 to 1/16. Results generally show that the post-split variance increase was unaffected by the reduction in tick size even after controlling for other factors. AMEX stocks proved the exception, with slightly lower variance increases following the tick size reduction.     

Passive Institutional Ownership,R2 Trends,and Price Informativeness

A distinctive trend in the capital markets over the past two decades is the rise in equity ownership of passive financial institutions. We propose that this rise has a negative effect on price informativeness. By not trading around firm‐specific news, passive investors reduce the firm‐specific component of total volatility and increase stock correlations. Consistent with this hypothesis, we find that the growth in passive institutional ownership is robustly associated with the growth in market model R²s of individual stocks since the early 1990s. Additionally, we find a negative relation between passive ownership and earnings predictability, an informativeness proxy.     

Children’s Labor Market Involvement,Household Work,and Welfare: A Brazilian Case Study

The large numbers of children working in developing countries continue to provoke calls for an end to such employment. However, many reformers argue that efforts should focus on ending the exploitation of children rather than depriving them of all opportunities to work. This posture reflects recognition of the multiplicity of needs children have and the diversity of situations in which they work. Unfortunately, research typically neglects these complexities and fails to distinguish between types of labor market jobs, dismisses household chores as irrelevant, and conceptualizes children’s needs largely in terms of the education they require for successful careers. Based on data collected in schools in Franca, Brazil, where children often combine school with work in the shoe industry, this study first examined the implications of labor market jobs and household work for their health, life satisfaction, and education. Analyses suggested that both forms of work negatively affected children’s welfare, but the effects of household work were more extensive, especially for girls. The second part focused on children with labor market jobs and examined how facets of their jobs as well as their after-work household duties affected their welfare. A lack of discretion on the job undermined the health of both boys and girls, higher pay adversely affected boys’ education, and housework had detrimental effects on all indicators of girls’ welfare. This paper discusses the implications of these findings for further research and suggests the needs for attention to different forms of work activities within families. It concludes with suggestions for multinationals sourcing in developing areas that go beyond the usual calls for ridding their facilities and supply networks of child workers.