THE LABOUR FOOTPRINT: A FRAMEWORK TO ASSESS LABOUR IN A COMPLEX ECONOMY

As addressing labour becomes crucial in the move towards sustainability, there is the need for assessment tools suitable for current complex economic systems. This article presents an input–output based framework (‘labour footprint’) for evaluating labour issues behind the production of different economic commodities, including entire supply chains. In line with the guidelines of the International Labour Organization, six labour issues are considered: collective bargaining, forced labour, child labour, gender inequality, hazardous work, and social security. This conceptual article sets to (a) define this footprint's labour dimensions, (b) cite relevant data sources, (c) describe its calculation, (d) illustrate its application through a case study, and (e) discuss this framework's relevance from ‘conscious consumption’, ‘supply chain responsibility’, and regulators' standpoints. Since it advances the evaluation of fundamental labour issues and the scope of multi-criteria analyses, this footprint may be a valuable tool for sustainability assessments.     

Hepatocellular carcinoma with tumor thrombus in the inferior vena cava and right atrium

Tumor thrombus (TT) in the inferior vena cava (IVC) and right atrium (RA) is rarely encountered. We have diagnosed before death and treated a case of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with TT in the IVC and RA, accompanied by a brain metastasis. The image characteristics on computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and conventional angiography are discussed.     

Bounds on average causal effects in studies with a latent response variable

Consider a case where cause-effect relationships between variables can be described as a directed acylic graph and the corresponding recursive factorization of a joint distribution. In order to provide the bounds on average causal effects in studies with a latent response variable, this paper proposes a graphical criterion for selecting covariates and variables caused by the response variable. The result enables us not only to judge from the graph structure whether the bounds on an average causal effect can be expressed through the observed quantities, but also to provide their closed-form expressions in case where its answer is affirmative. The graphical criterion of this paper is helpful to evaluate the bounds on average causal effects when it is difficult to observe a response variable.     

WEALTH AS A SIGNAL IN THE SEARCH MODEL OF MONEY*

This article investigates the possibility that wealth (holdings of money) serves as a signal of the ability to produce high‐quality products for agents who cannot directly observe the quality of the products. A producer's wealth may advertise past success in selling products to agents who knew the producer's ability and thus signal its ability. This analysis shows that such signaling effects may arise in equilibrium and may lead to more unequal distributions of wealth and lower welfare than would otherwise arise.     

How Do Ordinary Japanese Reach Consensus in Group Decision Making?: Identifying and Analyzing “Naïve Negotiation”

The purpose of this study is to investigate ways in which ordinary Japanese people negotiate in a multi-party meeting. We initially gave such a way of negotiation the tentative name of “naïve negotiation”. The analysis of the conversational data reveals three structural features of naïve negotiation: (1) at the utterance level, the participants tend to claim their opinions without providing any overt grounds, (2) at the local consensus-building level, they tend to jump to conclusions without the full examination of proposed hypotheses, (3) at the final consensus-making level, there tends to be disjunctions between discussion units. Although these features are not necessarily seen as irrational or illogical, a naïve-negotiation style can still be a trouble-source in achieving successful consensus-making. This leads us to emphasize the necessity of developing a support system for the discussants.     

Testing for Serial Correlation in the Presence of Stochastic Volatility

This paper develops a regression-based testing procedure for serial correlation in the presence of stochastic volatility. The asymptotic distribution of the test is derived, and the finite sample properties are investigated. Monte Carlo results shows that the test is reliable in terms of both size and power performances, when the underlying process is a log-linear stochastic volatility. Moreover, the test is superior to Woolridge's (1991) robust LM tests in terms of size in finite sample. Serial correlation tests were conducted for nominal returns of ten exchange rates, and indicated that there is a strong evidence of serial correlation for Yen/Dollar exchange rates.     

Determinants of the distance between sovereign credit ratings and sub-sovereign bond ratings: Evidence from emerging markets and developing economies

This article explores factors that affect the distance between sovereign credit ratings and the ratings assigned to new foreign-currency bonds issued by sub-sovereign entities (such as private non-financial corporations, financial firms, and public sector enterprises) in 47 emerging markets and developing economies. Censored and double-hurdle regression models are used to estimate the relative contributions of bond-level, issuer-level, and macroeconomic factors that determine this distance, separately for those rated at or below the sovereign rating and those rated above. For the three quarters or more of sub-sovereign bond ratings that are constrained by the sovereign rating ceiling, a Tobit regression model shows a smaller distance – suggesting stronger sovereign–corporate linkages – for public sector enterprises and financial firms relative to other firms. Riskier global financial conditions are also associated with sub-sovereign bonds being rated closer to the sovereign rating. For the small number of sub-sovereign bonds rated higher than the sovereign rating, a double-hurdle model shows that certain debt features – such as bonds backed by future-flow receivables or other collateral or structured as Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV) – significantly raise the likelihood of piercing the sovereign rating ceiling and also increase the distance above the sovereign ceiling.     

Decentralized provision of disaster aid: aid fragmentation and the poverty implications

International Tax and Public Finance - Despite large-scale humanitarian aid, the headcount poverty rate continued to rise after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in Indonesia. Drawing on the unique...