Three decades of productivity change in French beef production: a Färe‐Primont index decomposition

The Färe‐Primont index is used to evaluate total factor productivity (TFP) change and its components for a sample of French suckler cow farms in grassland areas in 1985–2014. The results reveal an increase in TFP of 6.6 per cent over the whole observation period, with technological progress being the major source of productivity growth. Meanwhile, efficiency decreased. Farms experienced great technological progress from 1991 to 2000. From a methodological point of view, the comparison with results obtained with Malmquist indexes shows similar trends but different magnitudes, with the Malmquist index overestimating the TFP and technological changes compared to the Färe‐Primont index. In addition, the use of a sequential approach that restricts technological change to being positive or null allows for the precise calculation of technology changes, disregarding the effects of external conditions that are captured in efficiency changes. Finally, the estimation of full dimensional efficient facets (FDEFs) that guarantees the positivity of all shadow prices used to assess the mix efficiency component of TFP change is promising.     

To Be or Not to be Temp? An Analysis of the Moderating Role of Motives for Accepting Temporary Employment

We investigate the role of contract volition and motives for accepting temporary employment in the relationship between precariousness of life and negative psychological symptoms in a sample of 275 Italian temps. Results suggest that the negative effect of contract volition on negative psychological symptoms is partially mediated by precariousness of life. A moderated mediation model shows that specific motives moderate the negative effects of contract volition on precariousness of life, so that when contract volition is higher, workers with weaker motives feel less precarious. This study broadens our understanding of temporary employment outcomes by showing that the negative consequences of precariousness of life seem to be less troublesome among temporary workers with higher contract volition and lower motivation. © 2018 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Producing Localized Commodity Frontiers at the End of Cheap Nature: An Analysis of Eco‐scalar Carbon Fixes and their Consequences

There is no single ‘great’ commodity frontier whose exploitation under current socio‐technical conditions could fuel capital accumulation at the global scale. According to Jason Moore, this represents the ‘end of Cheap Nature’ and signals a terminal crisis for capitalism as we know it. In this article we complicate this assertion by showing how, in the context of global environmental governance frameworks of carbon control, a diverse range of actors situated at multiple scales are intensifying the use of cities and their hinterlands for the production/transgression of localized commodity frontiers. We draw on scholarship on uneven geographical development, state‐led restructuring and eco‐scalar fixes to present two case studies from different segments of the carbon cycle in the global South. The first case demonstrates how the introduction of waste‐to‐energy technology in Delhi facilitated the generation of ‘carbon credits’ while waste matter itself became a commodity. The second discusses attempts by the Brazilian state of Amazonas (Amazônia) aspiring to shift from rainforest exploitation to financialized conservation supported by the ‘green global city’ functions of metropolitan Manaus. These cases demonstrate that although the global carbon‐control regime may enable accumulation, implementation remains speculative, and localized commodity frontiers provoke social resistances that jeopardize their durability.     

New evidence on the historical growth of government in Europe: The role of labor costs

We document a robust positive correlation between the size of government and the labor share of income in data from European countries covering the period 1869–1975. Following Facchini et al. (2017), we interpret this correlation as evidence that labor costs drive public spending. The long-term increase in the labor share observed over this period explains half of the overall growth of central government. The relationship holds when the labor share is instrumented with movements in technological change at the frontier. When decomposing public spending, transfers, not intensive in labor, are the only component not associated with the labor share.     

Neighbors and friends: How do European political parties respond to globalization?

This paper explores the relationship between globalization and party positions accounting for potential differences between left- and right-wing parties. The analysis is based on a panel model of 36 political parties in 18 Western European countries between 1970 and 2015. We find that right-wing parties move leftward in response to globalization, while left-wing parties do not alter their position. Additionally, we find that ideological party positions are affected by foreign parties’ positions of the same ideological bloc. These findings indicate that there is a convergence towards the left of the political spectrum due to right-wing party moderation.     

Trabajo decente para los trabajadores domésticos en Côte d'Ivoire. Inspección y actuaciones judiciales innovadoras en el marco del código general del trabajo

Se presenta un análisis contextualizado de las resoluciones judiciales dictadas en Côte d'Ivoire entre 1971 y 2013 en el marco del código general del trabajo. La jurisprudencia y las entrevistas cualitativas con actores institucionales muestran que las prácticas innovadoras derivan de la aplicación del código por inspectores y jueces que equiparan el trabajo doméstico a cualquier otro, lo que impide abordar su especificidad. Tras reafirmar que la regulación del trabajo doméstico debe englobar su dualidad (trabajo como otro cualquiera, pero diferente de todos los demás), se aboga por la creación de una comunidad internacional de aprendizaje sobre trabajo decente para los trabajadores domésticos.     

Sustainability Northwest: An Integrative Case of a Not‐for‐Profit Organization

Sustainability Northwest (SNW) is a fictional not‐for‐profit organization (NPO) that seeks to develop thought leaders for a sustainable future. This instructional case allows professors to assign students with up to six different roles, including SNW's chair of the board, executive director, volunteer treasurer, and the external auditor. Unique learning objectives include (i) the application of the CPA Canada Handbook, Accounting—Part III to prepare an NPO's financial statements using fund accounting, (ii) the development of recommendations to improve an NPO's board of directors, (iii) the analysis of system flow documents to identify control weaknesses, and (iv) the preparation of an audit planning memo. Instructors can use this case in several milieus. First, professors can foster a student's ability to integrate technical knowledge by (i) assigning students all six roles in a capstone course to promote integration within an individual course or (ii) assigning multiple roles across multiple courses to promote integration across a program of studies. Second, instructors can focus on a particular technical skill by assigning specific roles. This case is ideal for senior‐level undergraduate students or graduate students.     

基于5W2H和ESCRI法在企业安全管理中的应用分析

为了系统的分析事故发生的原因,本文在基础工业工程的方法之上,通过5W2H提问技术对G企业的安全事故从类型、发生地点、时间、责任人、造成损失方面进行分层提问、回答,弄清楚问题的现状。然后再运用ESCRI法对安全事故管理流程进行取消、简化、合并、重排、新增来改善和探讨改进的可能性。丰富并发展了安全管理的方法,并具取得了很好的效果。     

The importance of accounting for the uncertainty around the preference-based health-related quality-of-life measures value sets: a systematic review

Preference-based measures of health-related quality-of-life including, but not limited to, the EQ-5D, HUI2 and the SF-6D have been increasingly used in calculations of quality-adjusted life years for cost effectiveness analyses. However, the uncertainty around the measures’ value sets is commonly ignored in economic evaluation. There are several types of uncertainties, including methodological, structural, and parameter uncertainties, with the latter being the focus of this review paper. The objective is to highlight the gap in the literature regarding the existence of uncertainty in the value sets, focusing mainly on the EQ-5D and SF-6D. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first systematic review revolving around uncertainty. After searching extensively for studies involving uncertainties in all preference-based measures, the results showed that uncertainty has been approached through different means, while parameter uncertainty has been ignored in most, if not all, cases. These findings suggest that uncertainty should be accounted for when using preference-based measures in economic evaluations. Ignoring this additional information could impact misleadingly on policy decisions.