The impact of information and communication technology on international trade in fruit and vegetables in APEC

The global food marketing network is being constantly reshaped, providing opportunities and challenges for information and communication technology (ICT) to develop and improve international trade in food products. A gravity model of international trade is employed to see if ICT positively affects bilateral international trade in fruit and vegetables between member Asia‐Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies. We examine if the use of the Internet, mobile telephones, and fixed telephone lines determine the value of bilateral trade. Empirical results for the importance of ICT differ markedly between importing activities and exporting activities in the international value chain of fruit and vegetables in APEC countries. Changes in ICT levels in the import sector of the value chain have no effect on international trade in fruit and vegetables. However, in the export sector, growth in some ICT products has significant positive effects on trade in fruit and vegetables between APEC countries. Surprisingly, the strongest impact was discerned for the traditional form of ICT, fixed telephone lines, but this impact probably reflects the fact that fixed telephone lines are a proxy variable for the general level of infrastructure development. Of the two digital ICTs, mobile telephony and the Internet, only the Internet had a significant impact on trade levels. The further development of the Internet and its diffusion should make exporters in APEC countries more competitive in the fruit and vegetables value chain, and boost their trade values in these products.     

Understanding,modelling and managing longevity risk: key issues and main challenges

This article investigates the latest developments in longevity-risk modelling, and explores the key risk management challenges for both the financial and insurance industries. The article discusses key definitions that are crucial for the enhancement of the way longevity risk is understood, providing a global view of the practical issues for longevity-linked insurance and pension products that have evolved concurrently with the steady increase in life expectancy since s. In addition, the article frames the recent and forthcoming developments that are expected to action industry-wide changes as more effective regulation, designed to better assess and efficiently manage inherited risks, is adopted. Simultaneously, the evolution of longevity is intensifying the need for capital markets to be used to manage and transfer the risk through what are known as Insurance-Linked Securities (ILS). Thus, the article will examine the emerging scenarios, and will finally highlight some important potential developments for longevity-risk management from a financial perspective with reference to the most relevant modelling and pricing practices in the banking industry.     

Legacies of violence: trust and market development

We study the effect of individual exposure to civil conflict on trust and preferences for market participation. We conducted behavioral experiments and surveys among 426 randomly selected individuals more than a decade after the end of the Tajik civil war. We find that exposure to violence undermines trust within localities, decreases the willingness to engage in impersonal exchange, and reinforces kinship-based norms of morality. The effect is strongest where infighting was most severe and where political polarization is high. Robustness of the results to the use of pre-war controls, village fixed effects, and alternative samples suggest that selection into victimization is unlikely to explain the results.     

‘Payment by Results’ in the English NHS: the continuing challenges

The article discusses the objectives of the prospective payment system—‘Payment by Results’ (PbR)—being introduced into the English National Health Service and how it fits into the broader reform programme of health services in England. The continuing challenges for PbR are discussed and some suggestions made about how matters could be improved.     

Presiones en contra y a favor de la formalización. Regulación y empleo informal en Mozambique

La economía informal representa la mayor parte del empleo en muchas economías emergentes. Según la teoría de la regulación, toda actividad económica se regula por un complejo engranaje de mecanismos formales e informales. A partir del caso de Mozambique, este artículo explora las presiones a favor y en contra de la formalización y las formas que puede tomar la regulación, sobre la base de una investigación cualitativa consistente en entrevistas en profundidad a personal directivo y observaciones. Los resultados revelan la ambivalencia del Estado al respecto, con actuaciones «progresistas», centradas en la modernización de normativas e instituciones, y otras «conservadoras» que inhiben el proceso de formalización.     

When Does the Stepping‐Stone Work? Fixed‐Term Contracts Versus Temporary Agency Work in Changing Economic Conditions

This paper emphasizes differences among short‐term contracts in terms of career prospects. Using French data over the 2002–2010 period, we rely on a dynamic model with fixed effects to disentangle state dependence from unobserved heterogeneity. Although fixed‐term contracts may provide a ‘stepping‐stone’ to permanent positions, temporary agency work is hardly better than unemployment in this regard. The Great Recession of 2008 has changed the dynamics on the labor market and amplified the difference between fixed‐term contracts and temporary agency work. For both types of temporary workers, providing overtime work does not significantly increase the transition to permanent employment. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

MNCs in Central,Southern and Central Europe and the former Soviet Union: investment decisions and the regulation of employment

This article explores the relationship between the regulation of employment and the decisions of multinational corporations (MNCs) to invest in Central, Southern and Central Europe and the former Soviet Union. Building on La Porta et al.'s work on legal origin, and its assumptions as to the incompatibility of owner and worker rights, the World Bank's Doing Business reports held that countries with stronger protection for worker rights represented poor destinations for investors. However, is it the case that investors are really deterred by employee rights? Our study investigates actual trends in foreign direct investment (FDI) through an analysis of UNCTAD World Investment Reports. We find that the level of individual and collective rights and social security legislation is not significantly associated with FDI.     

Descriptive Analysis of Saskatchewan Organic Producers

A total of 69 Saskatchewan organic producers were surveyed in the spring of 1991. Although Saskatchewan organic farming represents a move toward an alternative conventional system of agriculture it is not a complete reversal from conventional practices. Saskatchewan organic farmers are experimenting with highly integrated systems which incorporate green manure crops and soil testing and require high management and marketing skills. In a study of then-goals and objectives using fuzzy sets, environment and healthy food were ranked above farm survival. This leads to the conclusion that most organic farmers do not adopt organic practices based on purely economic criteria but on higher goals within their own hierarchy.     

Comparing the impact of leader–member exchange,psychological empowerment and affective commitment upon Australian public and private sector nurses: implications for retention

This study uses Leader–Member Exchange (LMX) theory to test the associations between the supervisor–subordinate relationship, psychological empowerment and affective commitment amongst 1283 nurses working in Australian public and private hospitals. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected, analysed and presented. The findings show that the quality of LMX is more important in public sector nursing contexts than in the private sector with regard to the relationship between empowerment and affective commitment. Furthermore, the relationship between empowerment and affective commitment is stronger for nurses in public sector organisations with low-quality LMX than for nurses in public sector organisations with high-quality LMX. As empowerment and affective commitment are both predictors of staff retention, the findings can assist in developing targeted current and future retention strategies for healthcare management.