URBANIZATION AND HEALTH CARE IN RURAL CHINA

Strong economic growth has led to remarkable urbanization in China. Using the China Health and Nutrition Survey, this study provides the first empirical evidence documenting the impact of urbanization on rural health care and insurance. The primary finding is that urbanization leads to a significant and equitable increase in insurance coverage, which in turn plays a critical role in access to care. In addition, adverse selection exists in the demand for insurance. Income is also a significant determinant of insurance coverage. This study concludes that urbanization can help make substantial changes in rural health care and insurance status.     

Female labor force participation: an international perspective.

This article gives an international perspective in regard to female participation in the labor force. In most countries women contribute less than men toward the value of recorded production. Social environment, statistical inconsistencies and methods of recording labor all contribute to this inequity. In Britain for instance, women caring for the household duties are in some studies considered to be part of the labor force and in other studies they are not. Further, internationally, women often find themselves in casual, temporary, or seasonal work that goes unrecorded. Defining what "labor force participation" constitutes is a key starting point to any survey. At what age is one considered employable? What constitutes a person "actively seeking" employment? Economists often try to explain labor force participation rate by age, sex, race and income groups and use this information to cite trends. The income-leisure model theorizes that choice of work or non-work by women is based primarily upon wages for work vs. wages for non-work. This theory sees non-labor income exerting a negative influence. Empirical evidence, however, suggests that women will choose work if wages are good regardless of any non-work benefits. Because most men are permanently in the labor force, estimates of labor reserves and projections of supply focus mostly on women. International generalizations are often misleading since trends vary widely among countries. During the last 20 years the global female participation rate has remained almost constant, but this is misleading. The percentage of working women in industrial countries increased 10%; developing countries showed a decrease of 7%. Female rates are often tied closely to shifts in the overall economy, (e.g., a transition from an agricultural to an industrial economy often sees a drop in female labor because subsistence jobs are lost). Of course the ability of women to bear children and the social expectations regarding child care often play a role. It is common in western industrialized countries to see drops in female participation during childbearing years. Countries with the lowest female participation rates are those with strong religious views about women in society, (e.g., Catholic and Muslim countries).     

THE PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT AND EVALUATION OF A CORPORATE RETIREMENT PLAN: A CASE STUDY

This paper is based on an actual study of a pooled profit-sharing plan sponsored by a Fortune 50 company from September 1978 to June 1983. The purpose of performance measurement is to identify skill at portfolio management and provide evidence indicating whether performance coincides with the investment skills claimed by the portfolio manager. The approach here is to apply the security market line analysis suggested by Fama. Characteristic lines were determined for the plan portfolio allowing the calculation for alpha, the Jensen differential performance index, beta, and R². Tests are made to determine if the investment manager was able to achieve superior performance by shifting portfolio market sensitivity in anticipation of major market moves (market-timing effect) and/or selecting undervalued securities (security-selection effect).     

A QUANTITATIVE DATA BASE TO EVALUATE THE PERFORMANCE OF THE CORPORATE

Currently, there is not an adequate data base which would cover the performance of the corporate sector at the industry level. The Australian Financial Systems Inquiry has initiated the development of such a data base, which includes both financial and market variables to quantify the performance of the different industry groups for the period of 1963–1978. This data base can assist both the academic researcher and the financial practitioner in their work. The objective of this paper is to describe the content of this data base.     

Constrained resource project scheduling subject to material constraints

Constrained resource project scheduling techniques schedule project activities subject to finite constraints on the availability of non-storable resources such as labor and equipment without consideration of constraints resulting from material requirements. Projects are frequently delayed and resources are wasted when project activities are delayed due to material shortages. A heuristic procedure is presented here for scheduling large projects subject to the availability of all necessary resources, including materials, manufactured components, facilities, equipment and labor as well as the acquisition lead times required by these resources. Results are listed for tests involving both benchmark and actual problems.