Associations among Park Use,Age, Social Participation,and Neighborhood Age Composition in Montreal

Parks provide benefits for the physical, psychological, and social well-being of residents in neighborhood environments. Multilevel logistic regression was used to examine associations between neighborhood- and individual-level characteristics and the lack of park use in Montreal. Data on park use were collected from 787 adults residing in 299 different neighborhoods. Results found that older adults who lived in areas with a younger age composition were more likely not to use their nearby parks as compared to older adults living in areas with an older age composition. Forms of social participation were also important for the park use of older adults. Public policies should consider targeting aspects of the social environment to improve neighborhood park use.     

Versicherungsbetrug als ökonomisches Problem: Eine vertragstheoretische Analyse

Fraudulent claims are a well-known phenomenon and a serious problem in some insurance markets. The purpose of this paper is twofold. First of all, it explains why insurance fraud can be considered as a contractual problem. Consequently, selected instruments to fight insurance fraud and problems concerning the punishment of detected defrauders are analyzed by using existing results of contract theory.     

Implementation of EU initiatives on gender diversity and executive directors’ pay in municipally-owned enterprises in Germany and The Netherlands

A popular topic in the assessment of the functioning of municipally-owned enterprises is the corporate governance (CG) of such organizations. The results of the comparative study presented in this paper indicate that European Union initiatives on gender diversity and executive directors’ pay are often not implemented in public CG codes and in practice in municipally-owned enterprises in Germany and The Netherlands. The paper proposes that EU initiatives should specifically target municipally-owned enterprises and shows concrete hard and soft regulation options for national and international policy-makers and future research perspectives.     

EFFECTS OF WORKFARE SATURATION ON AFDC CASELOADS

The Family Support Act (FSA) requires states to raise welfare/work program participation rates to unprecedented levels in the 1990s. This study analyzes Ohio's welfare/work demonstration to estimate the impact of mandated high participation on welfare caseloads. The estimated caseload reductions are larger than earlier estimates due to high participation rates, an emphasis on workfare, and a multi-year observation period.     

Statistical approximation of plane convex sets

Summary

Given a convex set F in the plane with a sufficiently smooth boundary we try to approximate it by polygons in the following way. Using some specified sampling procedure we pick out n points on the boundary. Through each such point we draw the tangent. Consider the polygon F*_n spanned by all these tangents. If n is large we would expect F*_n to be close to F. Measuring the deviation by the area of F*_n — F we will derive an asymptotic expression for this area when n becomes large. This expression can be used to choose the optimum sampling procedure in the sense of smallest asymptotic deviation.

The problem arose from a problem of statistical approximation in propositional calculus, see section 1.     

An optimistic look at the year 1968

After almost twenty years of unparalleled economic growth, the Federal Republic of Germany has experienced a setback in 1967. The Federal Republic's Government is attempting to overcome this crisis with purposive economic policies. INTERECONOMICS had the opportunity of speaking to the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Professor Schiller, about development prospects for the German economy for 1968.     

New Findings on Firm Investment and Monetary Transmission in the Euro Area

In this paper we present comparative results on the determinantsof firms' investment and their link to monetary policy. Theresults have been obtained by the Eurosystem Monetary TransmissionNetwork. This network has produced a series of papers in whichthe use of micro data permits estimating and quantifying therelevance of two channels of monetary policy transmission: theinterest-rate and the broad-credit channels. The research findingsprovide evidence of an operative interest-rate channel in allcountries examined. Moreover, the results indicate that variableswhich proxy firms' financial conditions play a role. Firms characterizedby weaker balance sheets show higher liquidity sensitivity.     

Guidelines issued by the consumer board: The Swedish experience

The Scandinavian countries have been concerned with the question of self-regulation over the past twenty years and their experiences demonstrate a fluid approach to the question of government intervention in the relations between consumer and business.This report highlights the movement which has taken place in Sweden from quasi private regulation by business in the sixties to the Ombudsman institution as a government supervisory agency in the seventies. Sweden itself has a very marked system of guidelines which serve as non-binding rules in informal negotiations between consumers and suppliers. Their impact is as great as that of formal rules, and examples of their use are illustrated in the article. The guidelines themselves are constantly being revised by the Consumer Board after discussion with the business community. Breach of the guidelines themselves, although not per se an offence, will probably justify an action being brought against the offending firm by the Consumer Ombudsman. The guidelines also appear to differ in their scope and number, and although severely criticized, appear to have fulfilled an important function.The report further shows that the means of negotiation and regulation are still not static: a further move towards self-regulation is being mooted, partly as a result of economic cut-backs. These proposals are, however, not yet fully developed.

---

Richtlinien der Verbraucherbehörde — das schwedische Beispiel

Zusammenfassung Schweden hat als Vorreiter der Nordischen Staaten seit Anfang der siebziger Jahre sein System des Konsumentenschutzes von der Selbstkontrolle auf eines der staatlichen Kontrolle umgestellt. Dadurch ist allerdings die Selbstregulierung durch Verhaltenskodices, z.B. im Direktvertrieb, nicht gänzlich beseitigt worden. Eine größere Rolle spielen allerdings die vom Ombudsmann bzw. der Verbraucherbehörde erlassenen Verhaltensrichtlinien. Deren Funktion ist kürzlich von einer staatlichen Kommission untersucht worden, an der der Autor mitgewirkt hat. Die Kommission kommt zu einer im Prinzip positiven Einschätzung des Systems, fordert aber stärkere Berücksichtigung von Selbstregulierungsmaßnahmen auch unter budgetären Gesichtspunkten. Richtlinien werden zwischen der Behörde und den Unternehmensverbänden ausgehandelt. Rechtlich stellen sie sich nur als Empfehlungen dar, und sie binden die Unternehmen ebensowenig, wie sie den Konsumenten Rechte geben. Faktisch beinhalten sie eine Konkretisierung der generalklauselartigen Informationsgebote, Lauterkeitsregeln und Sicherheitsbestimmungen des Handelspraktikenrechts. Die Unternehmen befolgen sie meistens freiwillig. Verstöße werden vom Marktgericht in der Regel als unlauter angesehen. Inhaltlich befassen sich die Hälfte der 36 bisher erlassenen Richtlinien mit Informationsfragen, die andere Hälfte mit der Produktsicherheit. Die Regelungsdichte variiert. Nach anfänglicher Kritik vor allem von Unternehmensseite hat das System inzwischen hohe Akzeptanz gefunden.

---

---

Ulf Bernitz is Professor of Private Law, especially Consumer and Market Law, Institute for Intellectual Property and Market Law, University of Stockholm, S-10691 Stockholm, Sweden.     

Transfer Pricing and Hold-Ups in Supply Chains

Abstract. We reconsider the hold‐up problem under symmetric information when more than two parties form a ‘supply chain’. The parties are assumed to renegotiate bilaterally and sequentially. Potential trade distortions then arise in addition to the usual investment problem. Following Edlin and Reichelstein (1995, 1996), we consider fixed‐quantity contracts. First‐best allocations are shown to be attainable if the parties are able to commit to a ‘forced‐compliance’ regime where a central office monitors the consistency of the bilateral renegotiations.     

‘Beautiful Serbia’ ‐ objective and subjective outcomes of active labour market policy in a transition economy

This paper studies the causal impact of participation in the Beautiful Serbia programme providing training and temporary work in the construction sector in Serbia on labour market outcomes as well as on measures of subjective well‐being approximating individual welfare. According to our estimates, the positive impact of this particular programme appears much stronger when judged by subjective well‐being than when judged by the immediate labour market effect.