Unemployment,marriage and divorce

In this article, we examine whether the business cycle plays a role in marriage and divorce. We use data on Spain, since the differences between recession and expansion periods across regions are quite pronounced in that country. We find that the unemployment rate is negatively associated with the marriage rate, pointing to a pro-cyclical evolution of marriage; however, the response of the divorce rate to the business cycle is mixed. Results show the existence of different patterns, depending on geography: divorce rates in coastal regions are pro-cyclical, while in inland regions divorces react to unemployment in a counter-cyclical way.     

Divorce and the Birth Control Pill in the US, 1950–85

This paper explores the relationship between the advent of the birth control pill and divorce rates. Women using the pill can decide when and whether to have children and whether to maintain their attachment to the labor force. This ability may increase women's autonomy, making divorce more feasible. The pill's effects are identified through a quasi-experiment exploiting differences in the language of the Comstock anti-obscenity statutes approved in the late 1800s and early 1900s in the United States. Empirical evidence from state-level data on US divorce rates 1950 to 1985 shows that sales bans of oral contraceptives have a negative impact on divorce. These findings are robust to alternative specifications and controls for observed (such as women's labor force participation) and unobserved state-specific factors, and time-varying factors at the state level. Results suggest that the impact of women's control of hormonal contraception on their autonomy is important in divorce decisions.     

The Effects of Foreign Direct Investment Colocation: Differences Between Manufacturing and Service Firms

Colocation may result in positive performance effects because of agglomeration benefits or in negative outcomes because of fiercer competition. Using the notions of industrial organization economics, this study offers a comprehensive industry‐specific analysis on the performance effects of international colocation. We predict that bigger firms will benefit more from colocation of foreign firms in a host country. Considering industry and home country peers, the analysis suggests that positive effects dominate for manufacturing firms whereas service firms are negatively affected. However, these effects are mitigated by a firm's size in a location. A large‐scale empirical analysis on firm‐level data supports the hypotheses. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Trade costs,quality and the skill premium

We develop a monopolistic competition model with non‐homothetic factor input bundles where increasing quality requires increasing use of skilled workers. As a result more skill abundant countries export higher quality, higher priced goods. Using a multi‐country dataset, we test and confirm the findings in Schott ( 2004 ) of a positive effect of skill abundance on unit values identified with US data. We extend the core model with per unit trade costs leading to the Washington apples effect that goods shipped over larger distance are of higher quality. The combination of high‐quality goods being relatively skill intensive with the Washington apples effect implies that countries at a larger distance from their trading partners display a higher skill premium. Simulating our model, we find that a doubling of distance of a country relative to all its trading partners raises the skill premium in a country by about 1.6%.     

On the medical loss ratio (MLR) and sticky selling general and administrative costs: Evidence from health insurers

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) imposed an important constraint on health insurers: if the medical loss ratio (MLR), determined as the ratio of claims paid to premiums collected, declined below certain legislative targets, the insurer would be obliged to rebate a portion of the premiums to the customer. It might be expected that this increase in the MLR would result in a decrease in premium dollars available to cover selling, general and administrative costs (SG&A) and a concomitant decrease in profits. However, there is earlier evidence that SG&A “cost stickiness” presents a counter-effect in this instance: namely, that an increase in SG&A costs per each dollar of revenue increase is more than the magnitude of a decrease in SG&A costs per each dollar of revenue decrease. In this context, this paper offers the first preliminary evidence of the impact of the MLR regulatory change on SG&A cost stickiness in the health insurance industry.Applying the Anderson et al. (2003) methodology, our sample of publicly-traded health insurers shows evidence of significant mitigation of the SG&A cost stickiness after the implementation of the ACA medical loss ratio rules and that in periods of revenue declines, SG&A costs decreased more significantly post-ACA than pre-ACA. These results further illustrate the tension created by regulatory policy designed to improve healthcare cost efficiency and its impact on the profit seeking activities of for-profit healthcare enterprises. Thus, this paper contributes to both healthcare and accounting literature by documenting a significant effect of regulatory policy on managerial decisions regarding cost control.     

Market power in distribution and pass‐through for consumers and producers

We examine the differential pass‐through of import prices into consumer and producer prices. We develop a framework with distribution costs and distribution market power. We then examine pass‐through from import prices to consumer and producer prices in the euro area using the U.S. import price as instrument. We find that pass‐through rates to producer prices are more sensitive to changes in distribution margins than pass‐through to consumer prices. Furthermore, only a portion of import price changes translate into domestic price changes limiting potential consumer benefits from tariff liberalization, with market power in distribution services being one important factor reducing pass‐through.     

Sensitivity and specificity of the Mini-Mental State Examination in the Mexican population

The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) is a rapid, easy-to-administer test for the assessment of cognition functions. It is widely used in clinical practice and in applied research. In this study, we aimed to establish a standard for the Mexican population similar to the ones produced for other relevant populations. We also analysed the effects of demographic variables which regularly induce bias in responses on performance tests, and then, on the basis of the results, implemented a series of corrections to the MMSE to compensate for the usual effects of age and years of formal education. We thus generated a new scale, the adjusted MMSE (AMMSE). We established the maximum sensitivity point to discriminate between the normal population and subjects diagnosed with dementia (vascular and Alzheimer’s). The study provides sensitivity and specificity estimates of this subject-standardized tool in order to reduce the probability of false positives and negatives in the Mexican population.     

Effects of a short-term linguistic class on communication competence of international nurses: implications for practice, policy, and research

International nurses face a host of challenges in their transition and adaptation to the U.S. health care environment. Language and communication barriers have been ranked consistently as a top concern by employers, regulatory agencies, and international nurses themselves. Researchers in this study examined the effects of a 10-week linguistic class on the reduction of phonologic errors affecting foreign accent in a sample of international nurses. The linguistic course appeared to be effective in improving the international nurses' linguistic competence by reducing their phonologic errors significantly. Moreover, the intervention narrowed the linguistic gap between international nurses from non-English and English-speaking countries. Findings from this study have important implications for practice, policy, and research regarding quality of care, as well as for the transition, job satisfaction, and retention of international nurses.     

Returns to spending on agricultural extension: the case of the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) program of Uganda†

The aim of this paper is to assess the direct and indirect impacts of the agricultural extension system of Uganda, the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) program, on household agricultural income. Data from two rounds of surveys of Ugandan rural farm‐households conducted in 2004 and 2007, as well as different program evaluation methods and model specifications, are used to estimate impacts and compute a rate of return. The direct and indirect impact of the program is estimated at 37–95% and 27–55% increase in per capita agricultural gross revenue between 2004 and 2007 for households participating directly and indirectly in the program, respectively, compared to nonparticipants. The rate of return on the program's expenditures is estimated at 8–49%. The program has been relatively more effective among male‐headed, larger, and asset‐poor households, as well as those taking up noncrop high‐value enterprises and living further away from financial services, all‐weather roads, and markets or located in the Eastern and Northern Regions. Policy implications of the results are drawn.     

Criteria for Evaluating the Legitimacy of Corporate Social Responsibility

The goal of this paper is to provide a general discussion about the legitimacy of corporate social responsibility. Given that social responsibility projects entail costs, it is not always obvious under what precise conditions managers will have a responsibility to engage in activities primarily designed to promote societal goals.In this paper we discuss four distinct criteria for evaluating the legitimacy of corporate projects for institutionalizing social responsibility:(1) local knowledge(2) level of responsibility(3) shared consensus, and(4) relationship to financial performance.We conclude our discussion by noting that in those cases where the firm possesses knowledge about a specific problem and its solution, is directly responsible for causing harm, where a shared consensus among all relevant stakeholders exists, and financial performance will be enhanced, social responsibility projects are ideal. Obviously, no program will meet all of the criteria. In fact, our model specifically suggests that there is often a trade-off between the first three criteria and the last. For example, in those situations where the corporation directly imposes harm on third parties, and where a high degree of consensus exists among all stakeholders, there is little need to link the social responsibility program to financial performance. By contrast, as the corporation seeks proactive solutions to problems which are only incidental to the corporation, and where little consensus exists, the predicted relationship to financial performance becomes more crucial. By formally examining the trade-offs among these four criteria we more fully understand the complex relationship between social responsibility and financial impacts.