Systematic Price Differences Between Successive Auctionsare no Anomaly

Identical cases of wine are often auctioned one immediately after another. Ashenfelter (1989) reports that on average, the later lots fetch less. Such a systematic price difference seems anomalous, the more so because it is shown here that rational expectations imply not equal, but rising, prices. Risk aversion is an obvious way of reconciling the evidence with rational behavior. There is an alternative explanation. The auctions observed by Ashenfelter involved a buyer's option, whereby the first-round winner could purchase further cases at the same price. It is shown that this feature may both account for the observed price trajectory and raise seller revenue.     

Fiscal Interactions and the Case for Carbon Taxes Over Grandfathered Carbon Permits

This paper provides simple formulas for adjusting the costsof carbon taxes and tradable carbon permits to account for interactionswith pre-existing tax distortions in the labour market. Bothpolicies reduce labour supply as they increase product pricesand reduce real household wages; the resulting efficiency lossesin the labour market can be substantial relative to partialequilibrium abatement costs. However, much of this added costcan be offset, and perhaps more than offset when additionaldistortions from the tax system are considered, if revenuesfrom carbon taxes or auctioned permits are used to reduce distortionarytaxes. Consequently, there can be a strong case on efficiencygrounds for using carbon taxes or auctioned permits over grandfatheredcarbon permits.     

MAKING ARCHIVAL CHOICES FOR BUSINESS HISTORY

To become more proactive in their acquisition of the archives of Victorian business, the University of Melbourne Archives adapted a methodology pioneered by the Minnesota Historical Society. This enabled them to establish criteria to identify industrial sectors, and target specific companies within them, which match the strengths of the Victorian economy; and to determine the type of records required to adequately document both company and sector.     

Trade Openness and Growth: Who Benefits?

We investigate the relationship between economic growth andforeign trade, testing whether the benefits of trade vary overtime and across countries. Our results confirm previous findingsthat specialization in primary exports is bad for growth. Whiletrade openness promoted convergence in the 1960s and 1970s,we find that since 1980 the benefits of trade accrued mostlyto the richer economies, with little benefit to the less developedeconomies. Most of the dynamic benefits of trade are obtainedthrough productivity growth, with a small contribution comingthrough increased investment.     

New results on the effect of maternal work hours on children's overweight status: Does the quality of child care matter?

Existing empirical research on child overweight derives mainly from North America and points at rising maternal employment as an explanation for the increasing trend in child weight. These results cannot be replicated in Denmark, where an increase in maternal work hours does not increase the likelihood of weight problems for their children. This paper tests four possible explanations for this difference: (1) the effect of maternal employment on child obesity is heterogeneous and varies according to the country's weight distribution; (2) the quality of child care is on average higher in Denmark; (3) the counterfactual care provided by Danish mothers is of lower quality; and (4) Danish fathers contribute significantly to their children's health. This paper finds evidence consistent with the hypotheses that Danish child care and fathers play a significant role in explaining the absence of a significant relationship between maternal work hours and children's overweight status.     

Negotiating ‘solidarity’ and internationalism: the response of Polish trade unions to migration

In the context of massive outward migration after Poland's accession to the EU in 2004, this article explores the possibilities for cross‐border collaboration by Polish trade unions. The findings are based on interviews with the two main trade union/trade union federations, Solidarity and Ogolnopolskie Porozumnie Zwi?zków Zawodowych: All‐Poland Alliance of Trade Unions, at national, regional and sectoral levels. Examining the issues and challenges faced by Polish trade unions in terms of loss of membership and social capital, the article also evaluates the significance of Poland's status as a country of some inward migration. It is argued that cross‐border trade union collaboration has become an even more urgent project as the economic crisis intensifies competition in the labour market and increases the potential for xenophobia.