Permanent and temporary workers in a matching framework

This paper investigates on a theoretical level the underlying causes of recent trends in decision of firms to hire temporary and permanent labour when workers and firms meet through a frictional directed search technology. Temporary workers differ from permanent workers in that they have a lower bargaining weight but look for a permanent job while on the temporary job. The findings are that permanent arrangements are more prevalent the more productive the aggregate production function is, i.e. also in the less productive phases. More efficient matching has an inverse U shaped impact, it first increases the prevalence of temporary arrangements and then decreases it. Bargaining weights have an ambiguous impact.     

The end of a 400-year boom

The Great Discoveries, which began with Columbus, created a frontier that both eased European population pressures and poured enormous wealth into the Metropolis (Western Europe). A feudalistic, authoritarian society gradually gave way to a more open democratic set of nations. Familiar institutions were born: representative democracy and private-enterprise capitalism. Individualism flowered. During the twentieth century, that 400-year “boom” has come to an end. Population pressures on resources are now roughly similar, or worse, than those of pre-Columbian times. Humankind thus faces a “climacteric”—a coalescence of crises. The “ecological trap”, which imprisoned humans prior to the Great Discoveries, is once more closing. The questions this developed include: 1) is another frontier of comparable significance to the Great Discoveries in the offing? and 2) do the familiar politico-economic institutions of the era of the “400-year boom” require reexamination? The answers given are: 1) science and technology provide the only hope for a new frontier; but while advancing technology has brought many material benefits, it alone cannot do the necessary job; 2) the institutions of the American constitutional order should be reexamined to determine if they are suitable for the time of troubles that lies dead ahead. Several constitutional changes are suggested, to be brought about by a constitutional convention. In sum, a new social paradigm is required.     

Change mechanisms in the diffusion of residential energy conservation practices: an empirical study

Four types of variables that affect the diffusion of home energy conservation measures are assessed. These variables are the information possessed by households, household attitudes, the economic and demographic characteristics of households, and the attributes of conservation measures. A causal model of behavior change is presented based on Fishbein's theory of reasoned action. The model is tested using panel data on 225 homeowners from Decatur, Illinois and two conservation practices: employing winter night-time thermostat setbacks and adding attic insulation. The results illustrate the importance of all four change mechanisms. Many nonadopters have erroneous information about the financial and other benefits of the two practices. The elderly and the poor are particularly ill-informed. Negative attitudes are closely related to discomfort (for night-time setback) and expense (for attic insulation). As expected, barriers and incentives differ across population subgroups and innovations.