Group Formation in Risk-Sharing Arrangements

We study informal insurance within communities, explicitly recognizing the possibility that subgroups of individuals may destabilize insurance arrangements among the larger group. We therefore consider self-enforcing risk-sharing agreements that are robust not only to single-person deviations but also to potential deviations by subgroups. However, such deviations must be credible, in the sense that the subgroup must pass exactly the same test that we apply to the entire group; it must itself employ some self-enforcing risk-sharing agreement. We observe that the stability of subgroups is inimical to the stability of the group as a whole. Two surprising consequences of this analysis are that stable groups have (uniformly) bounded size, a result in sharp contrast to the individual-deviation problem, and that the degree of risk-sharing in a community is generally non-monotonic in the level of uncertainty or need for insurance in the community.     

A cross-country comparison of the demand for labour in Europe

A Cross-Country Comparison of the Demand for Labour in Europe.-This paper investigates structural differences in the demand for labour in France, Germany, and the UK. It finds substantial differences in the sensitivity of the demand for labour to international product demand and factor prices in all three countries. In particular, it reacts to domestic factor prices in Germany but international cost competitiveness in France and the UK; it depends upon European-wide product demand in France and Germany and a wider measure of product demand in the UK. The authors attribute these differences to product market conditions and institutional factors rather than to differences in the production technology.     

Efficient and optimal programs when investment is irreversible: A duality theory

An attempt is made in this paper to formulate a satisfactory duality theory of efficient and optimal programs in intertemporal models with irreversible inveatment. The introduction of the constraint that depreciated capital stock cannot be used for present consumption makes the meaningful choice and interpretation of dual variables a more difficult problem, as is pointed out by means of an example. A new definition of a competitive program is introduced, and this is seen to lead to useful characterizations of efficient and optimal programs.     

THE RAPID TEACHING OF SEWING MACHINE SKILLS: II.

A pilot study which was carried out to attempt to assess the effectiveness of a systematic course of instruction in the use of the domestic sewing machine is reported and discussed.     

Neo-corporatism and technological change in Australia: an international perspective

Industrialised nations have responded to the recent impact of new technology either by planning within a corporatist framework, or by reacting to changes determined by 'market forces'. Australia is moving from the second to the first strategy because of a combination of political and legal changes, building upon traditional institutions     

论卓越经营模式与6西格玛的互补、兼容和整合

本文基于对质量管理发展历史的回顾，分析了卓越经营模式和6西格玛这两个当代质量管理前沿理论的内涵和特点，论述了二者之间的互补和兼容关系，提出了企业如何进行整合推进的策略建议。