Measuring patterns of specialization using trade in value added: the case of manufacturing in Italy

This article aims to contribute to the long-standing debate on the ‘anomaly’ of Italy’s specialization in manufacturing by providing fresh analysis based on new data. It offers: 1) a comprehensive survey of Italian comparative advantages measured in value-added terms and their evolution over time; 2) an international comparison of these advantages with Italy’s main competitors. Results show that the country’s traditional comparative advantages are substantially confirmed, a genuine capacity of the Italian domestic production factors to maintain added value in production with comparative advantage can be observed and new trends in terms of specialization and competitors are also highlighted, showing the influence of the international fragmentation of production on trade and specialization.     

Neither Mothers Nor Breadwinners: African-American Women's Exclusion From US Minimum Wage Policies, 1912-1938

We examine two key US labor market policies: state-level minimum wages for women from 1912-23 and the federal minimum wage established under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. Each of these regulations implicitly defined which groups were and were not expected to conform to the hegemonic male breadwinner/female homemaker model of gender relations. In fact, social reformers and labor leaders advocated these policy measures as a means of extending the male-breadwinner family to recent European immigrants and white southerners. The male-breadwinner family and public policies designed to foster it became one means of defining a commonality of whiteness among different ethnic groups during a period of assimilation. Through the inclusion and exclusion of particular occupations and industries, African-American women were assigned a subordinated gender identity as neither full-time mothers nor legitimate breadwinners. They responded by forging their own gender identity as co-breadwinners.     

Children as Economic Agents

A generational perspective recognizes that children have preferences which may differ systematically from those of adults, and, furthermore, that a children's standpoint should be recognized by scholars and activists and incorporated into policy targeted at children and their families. Economics has not considered children as agents because of their lack of power relative to adults. The implications of recognizing children's agency are explored for the case of children's paid and unpaid labor force and household work.     

Marking Time: An Analysis of Youth Hours of Work and Study in Urban Mexico

This paper argues that a more complex view of work and schooling is critical to poor countries as they implement policies to increase educational attainment. In this analysis of 12–17‐year‐old girls and boys in urban Mexico, we expand the traditional approach in two dimensions by (1) moving from an analysis of participation to one of hours of participation, and (2) broadening the definition of work to include youth's household responsibilities.     

Justifying the enclosure of monetary incentives in mail survey cover letters

An experiment was conducted in which survey questionnaires were sent to two hundred randomly selected residents of a midwestern city. For half of the respondents, a one dollar bill ($1.00) was enclosed with the questionnaire whereas for the other half, only a quarter ($.25) was enclosed. Furthermore, the enclosure of the monetary incentive was justified in the cover letter as either an appreciative gesture or as a direct attempt to induce feelings of obligation to return the questionnaires. Subsequent response rates were assessed by condition. The overall response rate for the $1.00 condition was significantly higher than the response rate for the $.25 condition. Furthermore, the obligatory cover letter produced a significantly higher response rate than the appreciative cover letter, but only within the $1.00 conditions. Theoretical implications are discussed.     

E-Commerce, Ethical Commerce?

In this paper, we look at the new frontier of e-commerce, the ethical challenges it is facing and discuss some of the problems encountered and some of the solutions that are evolving. The areas of concern include the impact on other businesses, investors and consumers. Problems regarding financial reporting, intellectual property and privacy are discussed.