Interest rates are low but are annuities expensive?

It is often claimed that annuities are now 'expensive'. That claim is at least partly based on money illusion. Careful analysis shows that the current prices of annuities are largely the result of a decline in inflation expectations which has brought about a change in the income stream for annuities.     

Consumer protection in the Asia-Pacific Region

This report outlines recent developments at an international level affecting consumer policy in the Asia-Pacific Region. Outcomes of a South Pacific Workshop, a United Nations Regional Seminar, and of a training seminar in Vietnam are considered and a range of consumer and systemic problems are outlined. The need for continued expert assistance to developing countries in the region is emphasised.

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Verbraucherschutz im asiatisch-pazifischen Raum

Zusammenfassung Der Beitrag berichtet über neurere internationale Aktivitäten, die die Verbraucherpolitik der Länder der genannten Region betreffen. Er umreißt insbesondere die Ergebnisse eines südpazifischen Workshops in Sydney im Februar 1990, die eines regionalen Seminars über Verbraucherschutz in Bangkok 1990, sowie einer Trainingsveranstaltung für Verbrauchervertreter in Hanoi im Juli/August 1990. Bisher haben lediglich drei Staaten der Region gut entwickelte staatliche Einrichtungen für den Verbraucherschutz, nämlich Australien, Japan und Neuseeland. Diese Länder haben bereits mit Hilfeleistungen an die anderen Länder der Region begonnen, werden aber in Zukunft noch stärker gefordert sein. Darüber hinaus betont der Autor, daß auch die westlichen Industrieländer eine größere Rolle bein Aufbau des Verbraucherschutzes dieser Länder spielen sollten, zumal sie es waren, die einen Teil der Verbraucherprobleme dieser Region verursacht haben.

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John T. D. Wood is Director of the Federal Bureau of Consumer Affairs, Robert Garran Office, Barton, A.C.T. 2600 Australia.     

Organisational rigidities and marketing theory: examining the US department store c.1910–1965

By analysing the US department store during the period c.1910–1965, this article deepens our understanding of the nature of the transition to phases of ‘maturity’ and ‘decline’ that are fundamental to models of retail change (retail wheel, retail life cycle). By employing a close reading of key marketing and management writing of the period, it finds that ‘lock-in’ to an organisational structure associated with a single downtown store posed significant obstacles to suburban branched expansion. Only partial organisational centralisation occurred with the formation of holding companies in the 1920s, which contrasted with chains of general-merchandise and some department store retailers that were efficiently structured and better able to exploit suburban growth. When major department store companies finally embraced branched expansion, they were forced to significantly revise their operational structures.     

Is social movement unionism still relevant? The case of the South African federation COSATU

Is adopting a social movement role the most effective organisational strategy for organised labour or is it little more than an ideal, in an age of austerity and union defensiveness? This article draws on a national survey of Congress of South African Trade Union (COSATU) members to test perceptions of union activities and finds that COSATU unions largely embrace a social movement role. However, in the context of insecurity, unions need to address the central challenge of declining formal sector employment and precarious jobs.