GENDER WAGE DIFFERENCES IN AUSTRALIA, SWEDEN AND THE UNITED STATES

In this paper I use microdata from the Luxembourg Income Study t s investigate the contributions of industrial structure, occupational mix and personal and family characteristics to observed gender differences in wages in Australia, Sweden and the United States. A particular effort is made to analyse differences in distribution as well as level of wages. The conclusion reached is that different factors determine the wages of low- and high-wage workers. For higher-wage workers, personal and family characteristics are important explanations for wage variation. For lower-wage workers, occupation plays a more significant role.     

The influence of individual characteristics,plan characteristics and work-related factors on salaried employees' attitudes towards profit sharing: a Canadian case

We examined the influence of individual and plan characteristics and work-related factors on salaried employees' attitudes towards profit sharing. Employees who were committed to their company, had a high work ethic, did not feel there should be a guaranteed minimum pay-out and who believed that there was a connection between exerting effort and their job performance as well as between their own performance and profit-sharing pay-outs had a more favourable attitude towards profit sharing in general. Employees who were committed to their company, had greater knowledge of their company's profit-sharing plan, preferred the cash bonus distribution scheme and believed there was a connection between their own performance and profit-sharing pay-outs had a more favourable attitude towards their company's profit-sharing plan. The results suggest that individual characteristics and work-related factors are as important to the successful implementation of a profit-sharing plan as the features of the plan itself.     

Ethical perspectives on the foreign direct investment decision

This paper examines the foreign direct investment decision from an ethical perspective, and considers the moral agency involved in such decisions, with emphasis upon the corporate decision-maker. Historical capital allocation models once regarded as both financially and ethically normative are shown to be deficient in today's environment. Work of modern western philososphical and theological ethicists is included in analyses of the applicability of selected ethical approaches or metaphors to multinational foreign direct investment decisions and the corporate manager's role and responsibility as corporate decision-maker and moral agent. The ethical perspectives reviewed can serve as an aid to the individual manager's determination of what constitutes a responsible exercise of decision-making power. Marjorie T. Stanley is Professor of Finance, M. J. Neeley School of Business, Texas Christian University. She was visiting Professor of Finance and Scholar in Residence, Institute for Business Ethics, DePaul University, 1986–87. She has related publications in, e.g., Ethics and the Multinational Enterprise (ed., Hoffman, et al), Journal of International Business Studies, California Management Review, The Financial Review, and Management International Review.     

Labour supply of informal caregivers

This paper contributes to the informal caregiving literature by investigating the relationship between caregiving and the caregiver's labour market decisions. Its main interest is in determining the factors that affect the caregiver's decisions to remain in the work force and the amount of time he/she chooses to work. A major finding is that non-wage income, wage rate, education, the make-up of the caregiving network, and a host of identifiable sociodemo-graphic factors influence the caregiver's labour market decisions. Another finding is that some of the sociodemographic factors, e.g., gender and living arrangements, affect the decision to work but not the number of hours of work, and vice versa. The paper concludes with a discussion of future studies and public policy implications.     

Marketing for change - Giving brands a soul

Is it possible to avoid becoming flavour of the month and then being dismissed by bored consumers as a marketing gimmick? Saatchi & Saatchi Cause Connection offers a different twist: corporates should be taking the long view and lending substance and ‘soul’ to their brands by effective thought-through charity link-ups. Cause-related marketing or CRM, as it is known, has been familiar to American consumers for a number of years, whereas it has only really become topical in Britain since 1996. In some cases this might mean taking on an issue, but in Britain, where the voluntary/charity sector has a long tradition of delivering services, promoting awareness and is highly professional, there is a real role for advertising to play in communicating social responsibility in conjunction with a charity. This paper provides a potted history of the anti-racist and anti-nuclear campaigns, challenges the current emphasis on ‘discretion’ in corporate giving and outlines a simple checklist for undertaking a relationship.     

Reviews

Social policy. Alcock, P. 1996: SOCIAL POLICY IN BRITAIN. London: Macmillan, £12.95 paper.

Unions in local economies. Martin, R., Sunley, P. and Wills, J. 1996: UNION RETREAT AND THE REGIONS. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, £18.95 paper.

Business and the environment. Welford, R. and Starkey, R. (eds) 1996: THE EARTHSCAN READER IN BUSINESS AND THE ENVIRONMENT. London: Earthscan, £19.95 paper.

Innovation. Simmie, J. (ed) 1996: INNOVATION, NETWORKS AND LEARNING REGIONS?. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers and Regional Studies Association, £16.95, paper.     

Time use, work and overlapping activities: evidence from Australia

The overlapping of activities is an important dimension of timeuse that has previously received little attention in economicanalysis. Most time-use studies have looked only at primaryactivities, ignoring the fact that individuals often performtwo or more activities simultaneously. This seriously underestimatesthe time spent on several economic activities such as childcareand housework which are also performed as secondary activities.Using a two-adult household sub-sample from the 1992 NationalAustralian Time Use Survey, this paper examines the incidenceand determinants of overlapping activities among 3,966 adultmale and female household members. It first shows that inclusionof overlapping activities in time-use measurements providesa better estimation of the economic contribution of individuals,especially in non-market production. Tobit models are then estimatedto examine the effects of economic, social and demographic factorson the incidence of overlapped work activity. The findings,which are found to be robust, showed that gender, householdlife cycle and composition, education, cultural norms, employmentstatus and level of income earnings influence the extent towhich individuals, particularly women, perform secondary workactivities. Conclusions are drawn in the final section of thepaper.