Communicating through computers: Impact on a small business group

A case study of the use and impacts of the NLS computer message system was performed by the Business Planning Group of Bell Canada. The author presents the results of the study, and compares the Group's findings with existing research on computer- mediated communications systems. Preliminary conclusions are drawn concerning the impact of such systems on the work habits of user groups.     

Introducing the Vista system

In February 1978, Bell Canada initiated the pilot demonstration of an experimental system called ‘Vista’, which provides immediate and on-demand access to information and communication services, using a conventional telephone line and an adapted television receiver. Users will be able to acess computer-based information sources using the home television as the display for text and simple graphics in colour.     

Measuring third world security expenditure: A research note

There is growing evidence that important amounts of security expenditure may not enter the budgets or the national accounts of many developing countries. This article outlines five of the most common mechanisms used by governments to obscure their security-related outlays: double bookkeeping, use of extra-budgetary accounts, highly aggregated budget categories, military assistance and governmental manipulation of foreign exchange. Delineating those countries which have used these — or other — mechanisms is difficult but some examples do exist and are used here to illustrate how countries have hidden security-related expenditure from public scrutiny.     

Unsecured debt with public insurance: From bad to worse

In U.S. data, income interruptions, the receipt of public insurance, and the incidence of personal bankruptcy are all closely related. The central contribution of this paper is to evaluate bankruptcy protection and public insurance in a unified setting where each program alters incentives in the other. Our analysis delivers two striking conclusions. First, we find that U.S. personal bankruptcy law is an important barrier that prevents the public insurance system from improving welfare. Second, contrary to popular belief, we find that increases in the generosity of public insurance will lead to more, not less, bankruptcy.     

Putting the 2007/2008 global food crisis in longer-term perspective: Trends in staple food affordability in urban Zambia and Kenya

Staple food prices in cities in eastern and southern Africa rose sharply between late 2007 and early 2009, leading to estimates of massive increases in food insecurity and hunger. However, in assessing the impacts of soaring food prices on urban consumers’ access to food it is important to consider food price changes relative to changes in per capita incomes. In this study, we use the case studies of Zambia and Kenya, where data are available on food prices, wage rates, incomes, and other indicators of urban purchasing power to answer two main questions: (i) how did staple food purchasing power at the height of the food price crisis compare to levels over the last 15 years? and (ii) did the food price crisis exacerbate an already declining trend in staple food purchasing power, or did it reverse a trend of stable or improving staple food affordability? Results indicate that staple food purchasing power in urban Zambia and Kenya improved markedly in the 10–12 years prior to the food price crisis. Most measures of bread and maize meal affordability at the start of the crisis in 2007 were at levels 1.0–4.3 times higher than in the mid-1990s. These gains for urban consumers were slashed but not completely reversed during the food crisis. Between 2007 and 2009, maize meal and bread were still more affordable in urban Zambia than all periods between 1994 and 2003. In urban Kenya, staple food purchasing power as of 2008/2009 was comparable to levels in 2000/2001–2004/2005 according to some indicators, while other measures suggest that the food price crisis reduced staple food purchasing power to levels lower than any other year in the period 1994/1995–2007/2008.     

Pricing Via Utility Maximization and Entropy

In a financial market model with constraints on the portfolios, define the price for a claim C as the smallest real number p such that sup_π E[U(X_T^{x+p, π}?C)]≥ sup_π E[U(X_T^{x, π})], where U is the negative exponential utility function and X^{x, π} is the wealth associated with portfolio π and initial value x. We give the relations of this price with minimal entropy or fair price in the flavor of Karatzas and Kou (1996) and superreplication. Using dynamical methods, we characterize the price equation, which is a quadratic Backward SDE, and describe the optimal wealth and portfolio. Further use of Backward SDE techniques allows for easy determination of the pricing function properties.     

VALUING REDUCED RISKS TO CHILDREN: THE CASE OF BICYCLE SAFETY HELMETS

The protection of children's health has recently become a mandated priority for federal policy makers. To assess many of the regulations that affect children's health, policy makers need estimates of the monetary value of reducing mortality risks to children. Although the economics literature has provided many estimates of the value of statistical life (VSL) for adult populations, it has provided none for school age children. This article studies the market for bicycle safety helmets and estimates for the first time a separate but comparable VSL for children and adults. We derive three estimates of VSL for each of three age categories (5 to 9, 10 to 14, and 20 to 59) that range from $1.1 to $4.0 million. In all cases, estimates for adults are highest, followed by estimates for the youngest children.     

Gender Role Attitudes and the Labour-market Outcomes of Women across OECD Countries

This paper uses data from the World Value Surveys (1990, 1995,1999)to investigate the impact of gender role attitudes and workvalues on women's labour-market outcomes across 25 OECD countries.Anti-egalitarian views are found to display the strongest negativeassociation with female employment rates and the gender paygap. These views are, however, softening among recent cohorts.On the other hand, perceptions of women's role as homemakers,which are likely formed in youth and linked to religious ideology,are more persistent over time. They could be implicated in therecent slowdown of the gender convergence in pay. Finally, theunavoidable clash between family values and egalitarian views,that takes the form of an inner conflict for many women—theso-called ‘mother's guilt’—is another obstaclein the path towards greater gender equality in the labour market. Footnotes ¹ E-mail address: nifortin{at}interchange.ubc.ca     

Foreign Language Skills—An Important Additional Qualification in the Services Sector

Original Papers

Foreign Language Skills—An Important Additional Qualification in the Services Sector