Trade Union Membership in Europe, 1960–1990: Rediscovering Local Unions

This article compares union density rates in seven Western European countries between 1960 and 1990. In contrast to conventional analyses, the paper argues that, in countries where workplace union organization is well developed, and where unions have managed to turn the official institutions for workers' participation such as works councils into extensions of their operations, they fared better during the 1960s and 1970s than in countries where this was not the case. This difference in the fate of unions was even more pronounced during the 1980s. Unions with strong locals lost few members or actually gained some, while unions without strong local structures saw union density drop by between one-quarter and one-third.     

Spousal surcharge programs--an overview

Spousal surcharge programs help employers whose goal is to provide "above-average" health benefit plans by limiting the potential "financial leakage" liabilities from covering the spouses of employees who are eligible for other health care coverage. Spousal surcharge programs are just one alternative available to help employers manage the rising cost of providing health care coverage to dependents. This article explores the prevalence, plan design, financial implications, administrative and other considerations in implementing a spousal surcharge program.     

Potential performance and tests of portfolio efficiency

The potential performance of an asset set may be obtained by choosing the portfolio proportions to maximize the Sharpe (1966) performance measure. If a portfolio has a Sharpe measure equivalent to the potential performance of the underlying set of assets, then it is efficient. Multivariate statistical procedures for comparing potential performance and testing portfolio efficiency are developed and then evaluated using simulations. Two likelihood ratio statistics are then used to compare stock and bond indices against sets of 20 and 40 portfolios. The procedures are also compared to the Gibbons (1982) methodology for testing financial models.     

Economic analysis of injury prevention--applying results and methodologies from cost-of-injury studies

Injuries pose an economic problem of immense proportion to communities in every society. The economic burden from injuries can be quantified through cost-of-injury studies, using techniques adopted from cost-of-illness research. This study explores the feasibility of applying results and methodologies from existing cost-of-injury studies in economic analyses of injury prevention interventions and programmes. The literature on cost-of-injury studies and economic appraisals of injury prevention efforts was examined to elicit studies that calculated injury costs. Studies were accepted for inclusion if they included an analysis of the costs of all injuries occurring in a geographical area (community, region or country) during a specific time period, employed a societal perspective and an incidence-based costing approach and were conducted in industrialized countries. There were 12 studies that met the inclusion criteria. The average total cost per injury case was USD $3536, while the average share of indirect to total cost per injury case was 71%. However, the cost figures showed wide variation across the studies. Based on the limited similarity of findings from the studies, it was concluded that it is not feasible to apply results and methodologies from existing cost-of-injury studies. The cost estimators described in this study could possibly be adapted for use as reference points in economic analyses of existing programmes, but any other uses should be approached with caution. Locally obtained data are needed for reliable economic analyses of injury prevention interventions and programmes.     

Developing and assessing critical thinking skills in marketing students: The power of making explicit problem-solving processes

Applied research is a course that has been taught to develop and effectively assess critical thinking skills in marketing students. A modified version of the problem-solving model using explicit problem-solving processes is employed in the design of course material and delivery. Assessment data support students’ ability to critically think at both lower and higher levels. Assignments include creative and timely experiential exercises to reinforce important marketing concepts, encourage student interest, and develop critical thinking skills.     

The time‐varying performance of UK analyst recommendation revisions: Do market conditions matter?

This study examines the time‐varying performance of investment strategies following analyst recommendation revisions in the UK stock market, with specific emphasis on the impact of changing market conditions. We find a negative relationship between the recommendation performance and market conditions as measured in terms of past market return and market volatility. In particular, the upgrade (downgrade) portfolio generates significantly positive (negative) net abnormal returns in bad market conditions (e.g., the dot‐com bubble burst in 2000 and the credit crisis in 2007), but not in other periods of time. Moreover, our non‐temporal threshold regression analysis shows that the reported negative relationship disappears when market conditions become better, i.e., when the past market return (market volatility) is higher (lower) than a certain level, indicating the importance of taking non‐linearity into account in the long sample period as examined in this study. Our time‐series bootstrap simulations further confirm that the superior recommendation performance in bad market conditions is not due to random chance; analysts have certain skills in making valuable up/downward revisions in bad markets.     

Harvest contract price volatility for cotton

Changes in agricultural and international trade policy have increased attention to issues of price volatility and risk management. Previous work in the area of price volatility has typically focused on grains, with little work dealing with cotton. The objective of this analysis was to examine the determinants of price volatility for cotton, focusing on the growing season volatility of the harvest contract. Different econometric techniques, including ARCH/GARCH, were employed to estimate the effects of a set of variables on price volatility. The potential for a nonlinear relationship between price and volatility was examined. Findings suggest a significant seasonal pattern to volatility as well as a nonlinear relationship between price and volatility. The results also suggest that cotton price volatility has not significantly changed with respect to changes in agricultural policy. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 19: 717–733, 1999