Interpenetration Versus Embeddedness

A bstract .   The economy and economics are important fields in Talcott Parsons's work. Parsons's contributions on this subject were, however, mostly critically received in the new economic sociology. In this article, main points of criticism of Parsons's economic sociology will be discussed and the question asked whether the importance of Parsons's works in economic sociology was adequately treated. It will be demonstrated that the critical assessments was based for the most part on theoretical conceptions Parsons developed during his structural-functionalist period. Hence the assessments neglected to discuss the theory of expressive-symbolic communication of affect that Parsons developed in his later systems-functionalist period. However, precisely these later theoretical developments correlate directly with the concept of social embeddedness as a key concept in the new economic sociology. A stronger linking with this development in Parsons's theory could bring economic sociology closer to finding a foundation in action theory, which has been missing up to the present.     

DISTRIBUTION OF ECONOMIC RESOURCES: IMPLICATIONS OF INCLUDING HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTION

The value of household production is estimated to 40–50 percent of GNP in most western countries, and because the distribution of this income-in-kind is different from ordinary income distribution, the concept of economic well-being may include household production. The monetary value of household production is evaluated by a market alternative principle and an opportunity-cost principle. In the last case a reservation wage is estimated, and integrated in a modified opportunity principle, which means that household work of non-working women is evaluated by the reservation wage, and household work of working women and men by their wage-rate. The conclusions are among others, that the inclusion of household production reduces the inequality, and that the women's contributions—money income and household production—functions as income equalizers.     

Tax avoidance versus tax evasion: on some determinants of the shadow economy

In this paper we investigate how the possibility of (legal) tax avoidance affects the extent of (illegal) tax evasion and hence the shadow economy. We formulate a theoretical microeconomic model of household behavior in which households can participate in the official and in the shadow economy. Using comparative statics, we show that the complexity of the tax system affects participation in the shadow economy negatively, i.e. a more complex tax system with more possibilities of legal tax avoidance implies, ceteris paribus, a smaller labor supply in the shadow economy. In addition, we show that a reduction in the maximum admissible number of working hours in the official economy increases the labor supply in the shadow economy.     

The legal framework and initiatives for promoting safety in the United Arab Emirates

Injury is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The UAE is a rapidly developing country with fast economic growth, demographical and environmental changes that are associated with new hazards emerging at a similar pace. The UAE as a federal entity has federal and local systems responsible for safety policy, regulations and enforcement. To set priorities for safety promotion and injury prevention, it is necessary to have data on the most frequent external causes of injury and the main individual, equipment and environmental risk factors that contribute to injury. However good quality data for injury prevention are scarce. The aim of this paper is to describe the scale of injury as a public health problem in the UAE, and the development of safety policies, regulations and promotion efforts with special emphasis on traffic, occupational and child safety.