International Labor Union Policy and Growth with Creative Destruction*

A multi‐economy Schumpeterian growth model is constructed. Economies are interdependent through technology transfer. Households can stay as workers or become researchers at some cost. Workers are employed in production and researchers in R&D. Workers are unionized and union power depends on the government's protection. The main findings are as follows. If international technological dependence increases, then workers’ wages, the growth rate, and the level of welfare fall. The international coordination of labor union policy raises workers’ wages and promotes growth and welfare.     

E-banking comes to town: Exploring how traditional UK high street banks are meeting the challenge of technology and virtual relationships

UK high street banks are continuing to extend the choice of channel through which customers can manage their moneycolon; an obvious example is e-banking. They have been keen to exploit technological advances and changing customer attitudes to alternative channels. Additionally, competition from leaner new market entrants has provided an added incentive to adopt new approaches. In the light of such developments, it is worth reflecting on the changing nature of the bank–customer relationship. This paper suggests that banks are finding it difficult to manage relationships effectively due, in large measure, to the sheer volume of customer data generated by new interactive, technology-based channels. Paradoxically, it seems that the more data banks have about customers the less likely they are to know them on a personal level. It is further suggested that channels such as e-banking potentially reduce the level of personal contact between bank and customer to the extent that a ‘virtual’ relationship develops. This paper concludes that, given the tendency towards ‘virtualisation’, it is inconceivable that bank–customer relationships will become any more intimate in the future. Indeed, a greater degree of personalisation in customer communication may be the very best that banks are able to offer.