Random number generators for a pocket calculator*

Abstract Some theory of linear congruential pseudo random number generators x_n+1= (ax_n+c) mod m is summarized for the case in which the modulus m is a power of 10. These generators are especially suitable for implementation on both programmable and non-programmable pocket calculators. Results are presented of extensive statistical testing of two specific generators.     

Evaluating Retraining Programs in OECD Countries: Lessons Learned

Are retraining programs for the unemployed more effective thanjob search assistance? Governments of the member countries ofthe Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development haveconsiderable experience with retraining programs in a varietyof industrial settings. Evaluations of these programs show thatthe results are disappointing, however. This article discussesthe factors associated with retraining programs for two typesof workers: those laid off en masse and the long-term unemployed.Evaluations indicate poor results for both groups: retrainingprograms are generally no more effective than job search assistancein increasing either reemployment probabilities or postinterventionearnings, and they are between two and four times more expensivethan job search assistance.      

What Can Countries in Other Regions Learn from Social Security Reform in Latin America?

About a dozen countries in Latin America have enacted reformsthat include elements being contemplated elsewhere, includingthe partial privatization of social security. It is not easyto draw universal lessons for social security reform from theexperience of countries such as Argentina, Chile, and Mexico,however, where sizeable public pension systems went bankruptbefore the populations aged, mainly because of mismanagement.Most developing economies have much smaller social securitysystems. Relatively well-managed systems in industrial countriesface problems that are long term in nature and have been broughtabout by an aging population. The experiences of Latin Americanevertheless offer some general lessons for countries in otherparts of the world. These lessons relate to changes in labormarket incentives accompanying reforms and how workers reactto them, government actions that have met with success in managingthe transition to funded pensions, and the expectations of individualsfrom social security systems. Latin America's reforms suggestthat the most effective approach is to keep payroll taxes low,governments solvent, and social security systems focused onproviding reasonable insurance against poverty in old age. JEL codes: G23, H31, H53, H55, J26     

Have Asian trade agreements reduced trade costs?

Regionalization of trade in East Asia increased in the 1990s, and has been accompanied by a growing number of trade agreements. The wave of trade agreements is in part a response to the need to facilitate trade in order to make regional value chains more profitable. This paper draws on a rich Australian database for the period 1990–2007, which allows us to control for distance and commodity characteristics and to identify cross-country variation in trade costs. The results, indicating the extent to which East Asian countries’ trade costs have fallen over the regionalization period relative to changes in other regions’ trade costs, provide evidence of the existence of effective policy steps to facilitate trade and also that these steps have multilateral as well as bilateral or regional benefits.     

Challenges Facing Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in the Kyrgyz Republic, 1996-7

Based on high quality household survey data from 1996 and 1997, this paper analyzes the challenges facing non-farm household businesses in the Kyrgyz Republic. The non-farm businesses are small, concentrated in service activities, and rely on family labour. They are new enterprises established after the transition from central planning began, rather than state enterprises formed during the planning era and subsequently privatized. High taxes, low product demand, and high input prices are the three most cited challenges, while the problems facing small businesses do not include credit availability, capacity concerns, input availability, or labour costs. Frequent mention of licence difficulties and extortion, in addition to high taxes, indicates that the grabbing hand of the government is a major obstacle to private businesses. The government is also failing to maintain law and order; in 1996 a quarter of the businesses report violence among their three main challenges.     

Correlates of first‐brand loyalty

A mail survey of British supermarket customers shows that the factor most strongly associated with claimed brand loyalty is household income Brand loyal customers also claim to spend more, are more concerned about quality and less about price, are slightly more store loyal and make more use of large out‐of‐town stores Brand loyalty is also related to age; those aged under 25 years and 65 + years are less loyal

There is little difference between those who are primarily loyal to store brands and those who are primarily loyal to manufacturer brands, and there is little evidence that store patronage is raised by loyalty to store brands     

The role of leadership in successful international mergers and acquisitions: Why Renault‐Nissan succeeded and DaimlerChrysler‐Mitsubishi failed

This article compares and contrasts the Renault‐Nissan and DaimlerChrysler‐Mitsubishi mergers to consider the relative and combined effects of national and organizational culture on the performance of Nissan and Mitsubishi. It also examines the reasons why the Renault‐Nissan merger was successful and the DaimlerChrysler‐Mitsubishi merger failed. It finds that Japanese national culture influenced organizational culture and HRM practices, which created organizations that had no sense of urgency, profit orientation, or accountability and led to poor market and financial performance. It also finds that leadership was a major factor impacting on the success of the turnaround efforts of these two organizations. These findings have implications for leaders and human resource management practitioners engaged in international business and are of particular relevance to Western organizations working with organizations in high‐context countries with a collectivist rather than individualist orientation. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Living Standards in Central Asia

MOCT-MOST: Economic Policy in Transitional Economies -     

European integration and unemployment

Symes, V. 1995: UNEMPLOYMENT IN EUROPE - PROBLEMS AND POLICIES. London and New York: Routledge, £40.00 cased, £12.99 paper.

Alogoskoufis et al 1995: UNEMPLOYMENT: CHOICES FOR EUROPE. Monitoring European Integration 5, London: Centre for Economic Policy Research, £10.00, paper.

Blanchard et al 1995: SPANISH UNEMPLOYMENT — IS THERE A SOLUTION? London: Centre for Economic Policy Research, £14.95, paper.

Coates, K. and Holland, S. 1995: FULL EMPLOYMENT FOR EUROPE — THE COMMISSION, THE COUNCIL AND THE DEBATE ON EMPLOYMENT IN THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 1994-95. Nottingham: Spokesman for European Labour Forum, £9.99, paper.

Local Economy Policy Unit: CAN UNEMPLOYMENT BE CUT BY HALF BY 2000? A DISCUSSION STATEMENT PRESENTED BY THE BERLIN SENATE'S ADVISORY COUNCIL FOR LABOUR MARKET POLICY. London: Local Economic Policy Unit, £12.00, paper.