Female Earnings and Divorce Rates: Some Australian Evidence

The purpose of this article is to examine whether female earnings have influenced divorce rates in Australia, using state‐level data for the past four decades. Following a recent study by Ressler and Waters (2000), which concludes from comparable US data that female earnings and divorce rates may be jointly endogenous, initial testing is performed to identify whether female earnings can be treated as exogenous. A Hausman specification error test finds no evidence of a simultaneous relationship in the Australian data, in contrast to the findings of Ressler and Waters. The test result supports the hypothesis that other underlying factors affect female earnings, of which higher divorce rates are merely another symptom. A divorce rate equation is estimated. In accordance with much of the literature, the rise in female earnings over the past four decades is found to have increased Australian divorce rates.     

Ties that Unwind: Dynamism in Integrative Social Contracts Theory1

Social contract theory offers a powerful method and metaphor for the study of organizational ethics. This paper considers the variant of the social contract that has arguably gained the most attention among business ethicists: integrative social contracts theory or ISCT [Donaldson and Dunfee: 1999, Ties That Bind (Harvard Business School Press, Boston)]. A core precept of ISCT – that consent to membership in an organization entails obligations to follow the norms of that organization, subject to the moral minimums of basic human rights – is a reasonable and appealing notion. One potential challenge for those attempting to apply this idea, however, lies in the dynamic nature of social norms. Organizational norms evolve, often through the conscious efforts of community members and leaders. As currently formulated, ISCT offers a framework that under-appreciates the evolving nature of moral norms. In this paper, we extend ISCT by considering the circumstances under which the terms of and parties to social contracts change. We also consider a number of principles that should be considered as the terms and parties to organizational social contracts change.     

The Ex Post Performance of Four Portfolio Selection Algorithms

This paper explores the ex post performance of four widely cited (and sometimes applied) normative portfolio selection models. Each is supposed to solve the same portfolio selection problem relative to the same mean-variance efficiency criteria. It has been shown elsewhere, and this paper confirms, that the models result in vastly different ex ante stock selection strategies. However, the acid test of normative theory is ex post performance relative to a set of efficiency criteria or some other standard. The empirical results reported here show that, with one exception, the ex post performance of the models is consistent with the same mean-variance efficiency criteria, and, over a predictable range of outcomes, consistently outperform the index portfolio based on Standard & Poor's 500 Stock Index.     

Unmanning the homeland

This article traces some of the history of and logic behind the automation of weapons systems in relation to their planned deployment as an integral element of ‘homeland security’ in the US after the September 11th attacks. We focus primarily on unmanned combat air vehicles that have long been part of the Air Force’s R&D plans, but have now apparently found an event that justifies their production and deployment. What, we wonder, will be the effects on the urban landscape by using unmanned vehicles capable of ‘intelligently’ selecting a target and firing upon it, especially when the technology that allows these weapons systems to find the target as satellite coordinates relies on the same information technology that provides the infrastructure for ‘smart’ communities, and are already deployed in virtually all urban settings. By exploring the logic of speed and surprise that has driven the increased move toward and reliance on automated and intelligent weapons systems, we reveal how the arguments used in favor of developing and deploying such weapons systems also work as arguments against them. The technology that makes a weapons system intelligent, for example, also means that it has to be capable of choosing the wrong target, hence its ‘intelligence’. Similarly, the need to control the element of surprise has its logical end in the pursuit of the ultimate hidden vantage point, exemplified by the dark side of the moon. The technology and logic of the current ‘War on Terror’ fits neatly into already extant long–range military strategic planning, and could have a massive impact on the shape of urban environments in the immediate and distant futures. Cet article reprend en partie l’historique et la logique qui sous–tendent l’automatisation des systèmes d’armes dans le cadre de leur déploiement en tant qu’élément constitutif de la ‘séécurité de la patrie‘ aux Etats–Unis après les attaques du 11 septembre. Il se consacre surtout aux aéronefs de combat sans pilote qui font partie des stratégies de R&D de l’Air Force depuis longtemps même si, apparemment, ils ont dorénavant trouvé un événement justifiant leur production et leur déploiement. Quels seraient les effets sur le paysage urbain d’un recours à ces véhicules sans pilote capables de choisir ‘intelligemment’ une cible et de la viser? Et ce, en particulier si la technologie qui leur permet de trouver la cible sous forme de coordonnées par satellite s’appuie sur cette même informatique qui fournit l’infrastructure aux communautés ‘intelligentes’, celle–ci étant déjà installée sur quasiment toutes les scènes urbaines. En s’intéressant à la logique de rapidité et surprise qui a motivé la tendance croissante et la dépendance à légard des systèmes d’armes automatisés intelligents, l’article révèle comment les arguments favorables au développement et au déploiement de ces systèmes fonctionnent aussi comme arguments contraires. La technologie qui rend intelligent un tel système signifie, par exemple, qu’il doit être capable de choisir la mauvaise cible, donc son ‘intelligence’. De même, le besoin de maîtriser l’élément de surprise trouve sa fin logique dans la recherche de la position cachée optimale, caractérisée par la face cachée de la lune. Technologie et logique de la ‘guerre’ actuelle contre la terreur s’adaptent parfaitement aux plans stratégiques militaires de grande envergure déjà en place et pourraient avoir une incidence énorme sur la conformation des environnements urbains dans un avenir à la fois immédiat et lointain.     

Social Investment through Community Enterprise: The Case of Multinational Corporations Involvement in the Development of Nigerian Water Resources

This paper examines the different mechanisms used by multinational corporations (MNCs) in Nigeria seeking to make long-term social investments by meeting the critical challenge of improving water provision. Community enterprise – an increasingly common form of social enterprise, which pursues charitable objectives through business activities – may be the most effective mechanism for building local capacity in a sustainable and accountable way. Traditionally, social investments by MNCs have involved either donations to a charity, which then assumes responsibility for delivering social outcomes, or direct management of social investment in-house. These approaches have been criticized, however, for their limited contribution to local capacity building, their focus on short-term outcomes, and the restricted role that they afford to communities. Partnering with community enterprise, provided there is sufficient local capacity to support it, is the most effective mode of governance through which MNCs can manage social investments in developing countries. Dr. Emeka Nwankwo is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Aquada Development Corporation, an infrastructure and technology development firm based in Nigeria. Nelson Phillips is the Professor of Strategy and Organizational Behavior at the Tanaka Business School, Imperial College London. Paul Tracey is a Lecturer in Enterprise at the Centre for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick.     

Nonparametric Estimation of a Multifactor Heath-Jarrow-Morton Model: An Integrated Approach

We propose a new nonparametric estimator for the volatilitystructure of the zero-coupon yield curve inside the Heath-Jarrow-Mortonframework. The estimator incorporates cross-sectional restrictionsalong the maturity dimension, and also allows for measurementerrors, which can arise from estimation of the yield curve fromnoisy data. The estimates are implemented with daily CRSP bonddata.     

Profitability and factory-based cotton gin production in the antebellum south

Before 1820 Northern mechanics started factory-based cotton gin manufacturing to compete with traditional Southern “ginwrights.” Later, cotton gin production in factories was transferred to the South. This paper estimates the profitability of cotton gin makers in the antebellum industrial census. The Southern sector was more profitable than that of the North, explaining the regional migration of machine production resources. Besides transport cost protection, Southern firms had a cost advantage in sales and service networks. Specific factor investments in gin making limited further resource flows from North to South after 1840. It also reduced the industry’s impact on Southern economic development.     

ORACLE从供应商到合作伙伴的转变

在<盈利>杂志这本专刊的读者当中,很多都是Oracle数据库和应用产品的长期用户.你们一直信赖我们是因为我们提供了最先进的数据库产品和服务.你们把最宝贵的资产--公司的数据托付给我们,而且你们也相信我们会确保你们的员工、合作伙伴和供应商能够高效地与你们进行卓有成效的合作.     

Price Discovery in Private Negotiation Trading with Forward and Spot Deliveries

Advance production in spot markets increases seller costs because inventories must be held. This cost does not exist in production-to-demand (or forward) markets, for which production follows trading, and sales exactly match quantities produced. Data from laboratory-computerized markets that trade through private negotiation are analyzed. For the experimental supply and demand conditions, price convergence patterns show spot prices 10.8% lower and the number of trades 12.4% fewer than forward outcomes. The adverse impact of advance production and private negotiation on seller earnings is emphasized when earnings are compared with those from double auction trading.