A New Global Index of Infrastructure: Construction,Rankings and Applications

We construct comprehensive and comparable indices on the most relevant components of economic infrastructure. An unobserved components model is employed to cover the largest possible number of developing and developed countries over the period 1990–2010. We map major findings from the new indices of infrastructure and provide country rankings, which we also compare with subjective assessments of infrastructure in the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report. Finally, we exemplify possible applications related to trade and foreign aid. By overcoming several data limitations, our new global index can help assess the links between infrastructure and economic development more systematically.     

Youth labour market integration in Spain: Search time, job duration and skill mismatch

In recent years young workers in Spain have had great difficulties in finding and maintaining a job. Furthermore, the early histories of new entrants into the Spanish labour market has typically involved young workers accepting jobs for which the required level of education is lower that the attained level. Using the ad hoc module of the Labour Force Survey (2nd quarter, 2000), in this paper I analyse the transition from school to work for a sample of Spanish youths who left education for the first time after 1990. I allow the search period after completing education, the duration of the first significant job, and the probability of being over-educated in that job to be correlated in a system of simultaneous equations which is estimated by maximum likelihood. The results suggest that over-educated workers experience shorter durations in their first significant job. I do not find a direct effect of search time on employment duration. However, there are unobserved factors that increase the first unemployed job search period after completing education, and that also increase the subsequent employment duration.JEL Classification: C34, J64The data set has been provided by professor Alfonso Alba-Ramírez. I am also grateful to Juan José Dolado, Marcel Jansen, Ricardo Mora, José Ignacio Garía, Juan Francisco Jimeno and two anonymous referees for useful comments and suggestions. The usual disclaimer applies.     

The tourist experience and bonding

This paper sheds light on the gendered meanings of bonding within the tourist experience. Its basis is a survey of young male and female single students, which demonstrates how they value being with, doing and sharing a holiday with their friends. The findings suggest complex gender power relations within tourism. For instance, women significantly more than men need to be together with, talking to and sharing experiences with their friends, and they require more than men this company to feel safe during the day and night. Such gender distinctions are linked to how men and women enact friendships and gender differently and to the geography of women's travel fears, which proposes that women more than men develop mental maps which restrict public movements. This research also suggests that the need for the company of friends is not just about spatiality; singles of both sexes prefer to be with friends when eating out in the enclavic and in heterogeneous tourism spaces. This finding thus proposes that midlife single women's ambivalence towards eating out alone on city breaks and resort holidays is perhaps not so much about womanhood as their age.     

New trends in urban development and public policy in eastern Germany: dealing with the vacant housing problem at the local level

Supported by federal funds, many eastern German cities have started to address their acute vacant housing problem, and the new strategies attempt to pursue revitalization in especially consistent and comprehensive forms. This article offers evidence that current policies are not meeting their main objectives. Very little is being done in the older, inner‐city neighbourhoods, although these have been given a top political priority in the planning process since they are perceived as one of the greatest economic and cultural assets of eastern Germany. Rather, the policies have been effective only in the large‐scale housing estates, where local administrations and city governments meet ‘big partners’ with resources for action. Further, it is argued that present policy strategies focus too tightly on housing market issues alone. Many housing problems cannot be solved using housing market policy tools alone as vacancy is caused by the general trends of depopulation and deindustrialization in the region. Avec l'aide de financements fédéraux, de nombreuses grandes villes est‐allemandes se sont attaquées à leur grave problème de logements inoccupés, et les nouvelles stratégies tentent une relance par des formules particulièrement vastes et cohérentes. Cet article démontre que les politiques actuelles n'atteignent pas leurs objectifs principaux. Très peu est fait dans les quartiers anciens déshérités, même si on leur a donné une priorité politique élevée dans le processus d'aménagement puisqu'ils sont en bonne place, dit‐on, dans le patrimoine économique et culturel de l'Allemagne de l'Est. En revanche, les politiques publiques n'ont été efficaces que dans les projets de logements à grande échelle lorsque les administrations locales et autorités de la ville rencontrent des ‘partenaires de poids’ ayant des ressources pour agir. De plus, les stratégies politiques présentes s'attachent trop aux seuls aspects liés au marché du logement. Bien des problèmes d'habitat ne peuvent être résolus à l'aide d'outils de politique de marché puisque la vacance tient aux tendances générales à la dépopulation et à la désindustrialisation de la région.     

Working here makes me sick! The consequences of sick building syndrome

This study investigates the consequences of sick building syndrome (SBS) by extending previous research on its impact on employee behaviours and attitudes. The article examines the effect of working in sick buildings on employees' organisational citizenship behaviours, absence, stress, burnout and job satisfaction. We report the findings from a survey of police officers working in air‐conditioned buildings in the Caribbean region. The study draws on social exchange and social relations theories to develop hypotheses on the impact of SBS on employee well‐being and extra‐role behaviours. The findings provide partial support for the hypotheses with SBS associated with reduced employee well‐being and absence but not with organisational citizenship behaviour. The implications of these findings, limitations of the study and further research considerations are discussed.     

Effects of Unilateral Climate Policy on Terms of Trade,Capital Accumulation,and Welfare in a World Economy

We present a two-good, two-country overlapping generations model where emissions arise from production and each country has a domestic emission permit system. When one country unilaterally reduces her cap on emissions, her output available for domestic and foreign consumption diminishes more than in the other country. With unchanged consumption expenditure shares for both goods the domestic terms of trade improve, while capital stocks decline in the reducing and less strongly in the non-reducing country. Improving terms of trade in the reducing country and falling capital stocks lead in total to welfare losses in both countries. However, if the country which unilaterally reduces her emission permits is a net creditor to the world economy and the Golden Rule applies, her own welfare loss remains below that of the non-reducing country.     

An‘s Bett gefesselt

Wann sind freiheitsentziehende Ma?nahmen erlaubt? – Die Gefahr, dass Pflegebedürftige stürzen und sich verletzen oder Demenzkranke orientierungslos die Wohnung verlassen, ist im Pflegealltag allgegenw?rtig. Solche Ereignisse gilt es zu verhindern – aber: Bauchgurte oder Bettgitter dürfen nicht ohne weiteres eingesetzt werden.     

Einzelbesprechungen

Ohne Zusammenfassung Aus dem Italienischen übersetzt von Alexander Gerschenkron, Wien Aus dem Italienischen übersetzt von Alexander Gerschenkron, Wien. Aus dem Italienischen übersetzt von Alexander Gerschenkron, Wien     

Discursive methods in environmental decision making

Sustainable practices can be initiated or encouraged by governmental regulation and economic incentives. A major element to promote sustainability will be, however, the exploration and organization of discursive processes between and among different actors. Many analysts agree that sustainability will remain a highly desirable, but unrealistic option for development, if people do not feel a degree of ownership and identity with the goal of sustainability for their own life and a preference for its policy implications. Inviting the public to be part of the decision-making process from the beginning improves the likelihood that the resulting decision will be accepted. Participatory processes are needed that combine technical expertise, rational decision making, and public values and preferences. To accomplish such an integration, negotiation, mediation, and arbitration are potential solutions. Many different procedures and forms of mediation have been proposed and some tested. One major attempt of the authors has been the organization of round-table discourses among a wide variety of stakeholders to develop environmental policy goals or to design local and regional waste management plans. These discourses are based on the assumption that each participant can contribute to the common good if the setting of the discourse encourages the generation of shared values and discourages strategic reasoning. The emphasis of the paper will be on the model of cooperative discourse and first applications in Germany, Switzerland and the United States. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.