Öffentlich-rechtlicher Rundfunk in der Krise

The German system of public broadcasting has arrived at a crisis point: too many lightweight channels, too many soap operas and boulevard magazines, too little on culture and too much on celebrity. Wasted investments, product placements, misappropriation of funds and fraud led to public commotion over the German public broadcasting system, which is funded with more than 7 billion euros per year. Is German public broadcasting worth all this money? In view of these recent affairs, the debate on reforming public broadcasting in Germany has gained momentum; several ideas for reform are addressed in this article.     

The decentralization tradeoff for complementary spillovers

In this article, we examine how centralization and decentralization internalize positive spillovers of local public expenditures when a spill-in from foreign spending is not a substitute, but a complement to domestic spending. Specifically, we assume the production of two district-specific public goods out of two complementary district-specific inputs in a taste-symmetric two-district setting. We compare equilibria in non-cooperative decentralization and cooperative centralization for different spillovers, degrees of complementarity and cost-division rules, and control for the effects of strategic delegation and the feasibility of cross subsidies to the input in the foreign district. We find that centralization welfare-dominates decentralization in most institutional settings and for a wide range of parameters. Yet, we also identify conditions for decentralization to welfare-dominate centralization even in our setup where preferences are homogenous. The setup features three structural novelties: Strategic delegation improves provision and welfare in decentralization. In the absence of cross-district transfers, decentralized provision and welfare increase in spillovers. Welfare in centralization is generally non-monotonic in spillovers.     

Trade union cross‐border alliances within MNCs: disentangling union dynamics at the local,national and international levels

This study identifies three types of workplace union strategy in the development of cross‐border relations within North American and European multinational companies: defensive isolation, risk reduction and proactive solidarity. Qualitative case studies of MNCs with operations in Canada and Mexico indicate that the nature and intensity of participation in cross‐border trade union alliances are shaped by the union dynamic at the local, national and international levels. A combination of greater workplace union power resources, notably discursive capacity, and of strong supportive approach of the national union, notably dedicated resources and space for bottom‐up initiatives, contributes to proactive solidarity strategies towards international union networks. The absence of these factors is associated with risk reduction and defensive isolation strategies.     

British employer resistance to trade union recognition

Following the introduction of a statutory mechanism by which trade unions can gain recognition from employers, this article examines employers' attempts in Britain to resist campaigns for union recognition and to undermine newly granted recognition agreements. Using an array of primary and secondary sources, the extent and nature of these employer activities are documented. The article develops a revised schema, following Roy (1980), to help understand and interpret these anti‐union activities. While of significance in deterring and undermining new recognition agreements, these activities are found to represent a minority current in the overall response of employers to campaigns for union recognition.     

What happened to single union deals?-a research note

Single union deals were heralded by many as the way for the unions to survive in the 1990s. The importance of such deals has been reduced since then. Here the author examines the decline in the rate of signing and then looking at the factors which have led to this.     

Industrial relations in UK clearing banks: a comment on Cressey and Scott

Here the author explores the manifestations of discontent resulting from conflictual industrial relations in banking. This has brought about changes, it is argued, that are of equal significance to those referred to by Cressey and Scott.