Book Notices

Books review in this article:
The German Dilemma: An Appraisal of Anti-Semitism, Ultra-Nationalism and Democracy in West Germany.
Diary of a Strike. By Bernard Karsh
A Short History of New York State. By David M. Ellis, James A. Frost, Harold C. Syrett and Harry J. Carman
Dalla puberta alia prostituzione. By Primo Sacripanti
Dictionary of Personnel and Industrial Relations. By Esther L. Becker     

IS FOREIGN TRADE (IM)PERFECTLY COMPETITIVE?: AN ANALYSIS OF THE GERMAN MARKET FOR BANANA IMPORTS

Many studies have been carried out that measure welfare effects of the newly adoped common policy on banana imports by the European Union. All these studies assume that foreign trade in bananas is characterised by perfectly competitive behaviour. However, if foreign trade in bananas is imperfectly competitive, then the welfare predictions about the common banana policy may turn out to be incorrect. It is necessary, therefore, to empirically estimate the degree of market imperfection in the banana market. In this paper, we estimate the degree of market imperfection in the German market for banana imports using a structural econometric model. Based on the bootstrap procedure, we reject the hypothesis that firms in this market behave perfectly competitively, but cannot reject the hypothesis that firms are engaged in Cournot-Nash behaviour.     

Dealing with Clinical Risk: Implications of the Rise of Evidence-Based Health Care

This article considers the nature of risk in health care and the use the National Health Service (NHS) makes of risk management. It explores how the concept of risk has been challenged by the rise of 'evidence-based' health care, accompanied and accelerated by a decline in professional prestige, status and mystique and much greater use of external measurement and controls as part of the New Public Management. The nature of evidence-based health care is outlined and the implications of the use of guidelines and other practice aids are explored. Finally, the article discusses how evidence-based health care is affecting our views of clinical risk.