Import Diversion under European Antidumping Policy

This paper studies empirically the effects of European antidumping cases on trade diversion from importers named in an antidumping investigation, to countries not named in the investigation. For this purpose we use a unique data set at the 8-digit product level. The amount of import diversion can be regarded as an indication of the effectiveness of antidumping policy. We find that trade diversion in the European Union caused by antidumping actions—in contrast to the United States—is limited, suggesting that the European Union's antidumping policy is more effective in keeping imports out. This result holds even after controlling for selection bias in the antidumping investigation procedure. A number of explanations for this difference in trade diversion as a result of antidumping policy between the European Union and United States are formulated.     

Cocaine revisited

Insurance companies often test applicants for the presence of cocaine. Because a positive test may automatically preclude further consideration, such cases often never reach the medical director. The negative impact of cocaine use on insurability is reviewed.     

Capitalism's growth imperative

A capitalist firm operating in a competitive market is subjectto a growth imperative, because uncertainty about the profitrate under a no-growth policy makes the firm's prospects highlyunattractive in finite time and bankruptcy practically certainin the long run. A no-growth policy determines consumption andinvestment so that they and capital would remain constant overtime if the latter's expected return were realised with certainty.Simulation is used to arrive at the probability of bankruptcyby the end of t periods and the expected values of capital andmoney, for relevant combinations of time and uncertainty undersuccessively more realistic models of a no-growth firm in acompetitive market. The sensitivity of the results to variationin the parameters in each of the models is evaluated. Finally,we establish that a plausible growth policy may achieve growth,but the problem of bankruptcy is not resolved.     

Leapfrog standards: implications for nursing practice

Annually, thousands die unnecessarily as a result of preventable medical errors. Medical literature supports use of evidence-based standards to increase safety and improve the quality of health care. Nursing implications from three imposed standards are examined.     

Predicting nurses' organizational and professional identification: the effect of nursing roles, professional autonomy, and supportive communication

Recruiting and retaining qualified nursing staff is of growing importance to today's hospital and nurse leaders. Findings from a survey completed by 190 RNs at a major teaching hospital revealed that nursing roles, professional autonomy, and supportive communication were differentially related to the nurses' organizational and professional identification. Professional autonomy was by far the strongest predictor of nurse identification, followed by manager and co-worker support. Co-worker support and traditional nursing roles predicted nurse professional identification, but neither traditional nor collaborative roles predicted nurses' identification with their organization. Communication strategies intended to help executives retain qualified nursing staff are presented.     

Treatment effects of selection behavior in managed care plans: evidence from Medicaid

This paper tests whether capitated payments to Medicaid managed care plans induce to plans strategic undercutting of treatment for specific diagnostic groups. I focus on treatment (measured by length of stay and cost) in acute care hospitals in Massachusetts. I use a differences-in-differences-in-differences approach, where the third differences compare treatment patterns between managed care plans that receive capitated payments with those that do not. I find that the first reduce treatment significantly more to mental health patients than to patients in other disease groups, whereas the latter reduce hospital resource use more uniformly across disease groups. These results highlight the importance of using payment mechanisms in public programs that reflect the variability in costs of beneficiaries.Received: September 2002, Accepted: May 2003, JEL Classification: I11I thank Randall Ellis, Kevin Lang and Thomas McGuire and anonymous referees for valuable comments and suggestions. I also thank seminar participants at The Brookings Institution and Harvard/MIT/BU Health Economics Seminar. The Portuguese National Science Foundation (B.D. 5910/95) and NIMH (NIMH R01 MH59254) provided financial support. I am indebted to the Massachusetts Division of Health Care Finance and Policy for kindly providing the data to me for this project. I am responsible for any errors that may remain.