Diverging Patterns: Labor in the Pacific Northwest Wood Products Industry

In 1986 workers in the Pacific Northwest United States accepted wage concessions while their Canadian counterparts prevailed after a lengthy strike. This study examines the forces behind the divergence in bargaining trends between American and Canadian wood products workers. It finds that while structural and cyclical economic changes in the industry were similar in both countries, there were crucial institutional and environmental differences. These enhanced the bargaining power of the Canadian membership of the International Woodworkers of America compared to that of IWA Region 3 in Oregon and Washington.     

BUILDING RELATED HOME ACCIDENTS: A PRELIMINARY STUDY

In the period August 1975 to July 1977 the Building Research Station undertook a pilot study to obtain data on home accidents in co-operation with the Watford General Hospital. Subject to precautions regarding medical confidentiality, information was recorded on patients who attended the Accident and Emergency Department of the hospital following an accident in or around a dwelling. In order to facilitate comparison with data on fatalities, use was made of the International Classification of Diseases ‘External Cause of Injury’ system to categorize accident events. It was found that the four main types of non-fatal accident were falls, accidents caused by cutting or piercing instruments, by striking against or being struck by objects, and by hot substances and steam. The study also showed that building features and services might rank relatively highly in terms of the frequency with which they become involved as agents in accidents when compared to other common household items.     

The Bank Capital Decision: A Time Series—Cross Section Analysis

This paper seeks to explain the dramatic decline in capital to asset ratios in U.S. commercial banks during the last two decades. It is hypothesized that the rise in nominal interest rates during this period might have contributed substantially to the fall in capital ratios. Time series-cross section estimation supports the hypothesis regarding the interest rate.