FCC policy on CB radio: Impact on consumer decision making

A consumer decision making model was created and tested in research sponsored by the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC was considering a series of policy changes with regard to equipment and rules of operation. Discriminant and regression statistical results were combined into a simulation model which projected the impact of the proposed policy changes.     

The European Monetary System five years on: Achievements and prospects

The record of the European Monetary System at the five-year mark is rather a disappointment for the System’s advocates. Has the “EMS experiment” failed? Or is there potential for developing the System further to the advantage of all member countries?     

Verbraucherpolitische Probleme bei der Anwendung des Gesetzes zur Regelung des Rechts der Allgemeinen Geschäftsbedingungen (AGBG). Zugleich eine Würdigung neu erschienener Erläuterungsliteratur

Zusammenfassung Der Beitrag untersucht den Schutzzweck des neuen AGB-Gesetzes anhand der Entstehungsgeschichte des Gesetzes. Er weist darauf hin, daß in der neuen Kommentarliteratur der verbraucherpolitische Schutzzweck nur unzureichend reflektiert wird. Dies zeigt sich insbesondere an der Auslegung des gesetzlichen Zentralbegriffs der »Allgemeinen Geschäftsbedingung« und an seiner Ausnahme, den »im einzelnen ausgehandelten« Bedingungen. Hier ist nach Meinung des Autors eine Differenzierung in Geschäftsbedingungen zwischen Unternehmen einerseits und im Verhältnis Unternehmen-Verbraucher (Nichtkaufleute) andererseits erforderlich. Schließlich wird auf Probleme der Verbandsklage eingegangen.

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On the difficulties of protecting the consumer by means of the new german law on standard terms of contract (ABGB)

The paper analyses the attempts made in this Law to increase the protection of the consumer against unfair contract clauses. It reviews recent legal writings which have tried to evaluate the substance and scope of the protection provided by the Law. It is maintained that in these writings, the aims of the legislation are not examined at sufficient depth. Criticism is levelled especially against the way in which the concept standard contract term has been expounded.The author argues that standard contract terms have to be given different interpretations depending upon whether contracts are made between an enterprise and consumers or between two enterprises. In the first case (enterprise-consumer) a wide definition of standard contract terms should be applied in order for the courts to be able to deal with most consumer contracts. In particular, the author opposes the notion of individually negotiated contracts in Art. 1 § 2, which by literal interpretation would provide loopholes enabling enterprises to evade the law. In the second case (enterprise-enterprise), one should pay attention to the distribution of market power; the more powerful an enterprise in relation to the contract partner, the greater the need for legal control of contract terms.The paper also contains a commentary on the legal procedure of collective action (Verbandsklage) whereby consumer organizations can protest against unfair standard form contracts; some first practical experiences with the procedure are mentioned.

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Norbert Reich ist Professor für Rechtswissenschaft an der Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Politik, 2000 Hamburg 13, Von-Melle-Park 9.     

Formal and Informal Labour Markets: Challenges and Policy in the Central and Eastern European New EU Members and Candidate Countries

The paper aims at comparing the formal and informal labour marketsin the Central and Eastern European new EU Member States andcandidate countries of the European Union. First, the currentsituation of the labour market is described, focusing on therecent developments since the breaking up of the East. Thenthe policy design of these labour markets is depicted and itseffects on formal and informal labour markets. The most importantchallenges for employment policy as well as the effects of enlargementon the labour markets are analysed. The paper ends with a shortsummary. (JEL J21, J23, H26, H11, O17, O57)     

Child Health and Economic Crisis in Peru

The effect of macroeconomic crises on child health is a topicof great policy importance. This article analyzes the impactof a profound crisis in Peru on infant mortality. It finds anincrease of about 2.5 percentage points in the infant mortalityrate for children born during the crisis of the late 1980s,which implies that about 17,000 more children died than wouldhave in the absence of the crisis. Accounting for the precisesource of the increase in infant mortality is difficult, butit appears that the collapse in public and private expenditureson health played an important role.     

Einzelbesprechungen

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Fishing and consumption patterns of anglers adjacent to the Oak Ridge Reservation,Tennessee: higher income anglers ate more fish and are more at risk

The risks from consuming self‐caught fish are receiving international attention because of high levels of contaminants in some species. The ethnic, income, and educational differences in fishing and fish consumption patterns of 202 anglers fishing along the Clinch River arm of Watts Bar Reservoir adjacent to the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) or along Poplar Creek within ORR boundaries were analyzed to understand how to design a risk communication strategy. Because of elevated PCB concentrations in striped bass (Morone saxatilis), catfish (Ictalurus spp.), and sauger (Stizostedion canadense) due partly from contaminants released from the ORR in East Tennessee, the Clinch River arm of Watts Bar Reservoir is under a fish consumption advisory, while portions of Poplar Creek are under advisories because of mercury. Most studies find that a high proportion of anglers eat their catch, and people with lower incomes and less education generally eat more self‐caught fish than others fishing in the same region. Calculating fish consumption individually for each person indicated that a considerable number of people ate more fish from the study area than the amount used to calculate risks when developing fish consumption advisories, and people who ate fish more often usually ate larger portions. Unlike previous studies of fish consumption, this study indicated that a smaller proportion of anglers ate their fish, and those that ate the most were the high income anglers for this fishing population, rather than those with lower incomes. This suggests that risk communication strategies must include site‐specific information on the population at risk from fish consumption, and that targeting only low income, low education anglers will miss some people who are most at risk.     

Comparing perceptions of the important environmental characteristics of the places people engage in consumptive,non-consumptive and spiritual activities

Managers, risk assessors, tribal leaders, public policy makers, and the public are increasingly interested in the characteristics of natural habitats where people like to engage in recreational, subsistence, or spiritual activities. Such data are critical for making decisions about human and ecological risk deriving from contaminants, as well as resource protection and land use. In this study we examined the perceptions of Native Americans and Caucasians about the natural places they prefer to engage in consumptive, non-consumptive, and spiritual activities which might expose them to contamination or other stressors. Subjects were interviewed at Post Falls and Fort Hall in Idaho, Cookeville in Tennessee, and at two sites in Long Island, New York, and northern New Jersey. Our objectives were to determine differences in perceptions as a function of category of activity, type of activity, location, and ethnicity. The data indicate that: (1) the highest rated characteristics were unpolluted water, lack of radionuclides that present a health risk, clean air, and no visible smog in the air; (2) all four were among the top-rated ones for each of the four sites; (3) all four were among the top-rated ones for places to perform consumptive, non-consumptive, and spiritual activities; (4) at each site, mean ratings were lowest for spiritual activities; (5) where there were differences, Native Americans rated all characteristics as more important than did Caucasians; and (6) where there were differences, ratings in New Jersey/New York were lower than those from respondents elsewhere. There are many statistically significant response differences between Native Americans and Caucasians, but overall one is impressed by the similarity in relative rankings. These perceptions will be helpful to risk assessors and risk managers in evaluating risk and potential solutions, to land managers for managing environmental resources, and to public policy managers for evaluating how people view natural environments.