Improving the effectiveness of nondisclosure agreements by strengthening concept learning

Intellectual property infringements rank among the top economic crimes, even though there are mechanisms in place to prevent their occurrence. One such mechanism are nondisclosure agreements, which, however, have been reported to fail in practice. This article argues that this may be overcome by strengthening employees’ concept learning. In an experiment, we investigated whether extended nondisclosure agreements, which provide the employee with detailed explanations and examples, lead to better recognition of trade secrets as compared to a standard nondisclosure agreement or no agreement at all. It was found that the extended nondisclosure agreement indeed increased participants’ ability to judge what falls under the trade secret law, whereas the standard nondisclosure agreement showed no such effect. Furthermore, the effects of the factors ‘Involvement’, ‘Specificity’, ‘Publicity’, and ‘Purpose’ on the identification of trade secrets could be proven experimentally. Employees’ judgments of whether an information represents a trade secret seem to rely on general cognitive processes. From this follows that concept learning could be integrated into systematic approaches for protecting intellectual property.     

Viewpoint: Estimating the causal effects of policies and programs

Estimation, inference and interpretation of the causal effects of programs and policies have all advanced dramatically over the past 25 years. We highlight three particularly important intellectual trends: an improved appreciation of the substantive importance of heterogeneous responses and of their methodological implications, a stronger focus on internal validity brought about by the “credibility revolution,” and the scientific value that follows from grounding estimation and interpretation in economic theory. We discuss a menu of commonly employed partial equilibrium approaches to the identification of causal effects, emphasizing that the researcher's central intellectual contribution always consists of making an explicit case for a specific causal interpretation given the relevant economic theory, the data, the institutional context and the economic question of interest. We also touch on the importance of general equilibrium effects and full cost–benefit analyses.     

Relationship between positive psychological capital and creative performance

Despite considerable attention to the creative process and its relationship with personal characteristics, there is no published study focused directly on the relationship between the recently recognized core construct of psychological capital (PsyCap) and creative performance. Drawing from a large (N = 899) and heterogeneous sample of working adults, this study investigates PsyCap and its components (i.e., efficacy, hope, optimism, and resilience) as predictors of creative performance. Overall PsyCap predicted creative performance over and above each of the four PsyCap components. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are considered. Copyright © 2010 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Immigrant earnings: age at immigration matters

A correlation between age at immigration and earnings is observed in Canadian census data. The evidence supports three underlying sources of the effect; first, work experience in the source country yields virtually no return in the host country; second, the return to education varies with age at immigration, and, finally, an 'acculturation' effect is observed for immigrants who are visible minorities or whose mother tongue is not English. Further, it is found that educational attainment, and relatedly earnings, vary systematically across age at immigration with those arriving around age 15 to 18 obtaining fewer years of education. JEL Classification: J61, J31     

An introduction to the economics of immigration in OECD countries

The share of the foreign-born population in member countries of the OECD is increasing, and this article summarizes economics research on the effects of immigration in those nations. Four broad topics are addressed: labour market issues, fiscal questions, the political economy of immigration, and productivity and international trade. Extreme concerns about deleterious labour market and fiscal impacts following from new immigrants are not found to be warranted. However, it is also clear that government policies and practices regarding the selection and integration of new migrants affect labour market, fiscal, social and cultural outcomes. Policies that are well informed, well crafted and well executed beneficially improve population welfare.     

Poverty dynamics: empirical evidence for Canada

Abstract. Poverty (low income) dynamics are explored using tax filer data covering the period 1992 to 1996. The distributions of short‐ and long‐term episodes are identified and reveal substantial differences by sex and family type. Entry and exit models explore the relationships between poverty transitions and sex, family status and other personal and situational attributes. Duration effects on exiting and re‐entering poverty are found to be important, and models including past poverty experiences point to strong ‘occurrence dependence’ for poverty entry and incidence. Fixed‐effect panel data models confirm the above and reveal asymmetries in the impacts of household transitions on poverty. JEL Classification: I3 La dynamique de la pauvreté : résultats empiriques pour le Canada. Les auteurs examinent la dynamique de la pauvreté(bas revenus)à l’aide des données disponibles pour les citoyens qui ont soumis leurs rapports d’impôt entre 1992 et 1996. On identifie les distributions d’épisodes (courts et longs) de pauvreté, et celles‐ci révèlent des différences significatives selon le sexe et les attributs familiaux. Les modèles d’entrée et sortie identifient les relations entre le statut de pauvreté, le sexe, le statut familial, et d’autres attributs personnels et situationnels. Il appert que les effets de durée sur les périodes de sortie et de ré‐entrée dans un statut de pauvreté sont importants; les modèles qui prennent en compte les épisodes de pauvreté antérieurs montrent qu’il y a une forte corrélation (occurrence dependence) tant pour le passage au statut de pauvreté que pour l’incidence de tels épisodes. Les résultats des études transversales confirment ces résultats et révèlent des asymétries dans les impacts des transitions dans les ménages sur la pauvreté.     

Atypical workforce: raising the status of part-time employment-Canada

Part-time employment is a theme of major significance in political and corporate debate in the European Community. This article extends the debate to the Canadian experience and concludes that even with government intervention there has been no significant improvement in the status of part-time workers over the last decade.     

Arbitrage Possibilities in Conflict Situations

This paper argues for a new theoretical methodology that delivers best bet decision outcomes in contexts where issues are contested. Governed by the procedural parameters of such a Generalised Decision Assurance Methodology, a multi-criteria decision modelling approach is proposed that allows for the identification of arbitrage possibilities that emerge at the interface between conflicting sets of interests. Such possibilities are then exploited to secure a solution set that is maximally justifiable to both parties.     

Drowning among the lakeside fishing communities in Uganda: results of a community survey

The study aimed to determine the drowning burden in four Ugandan lakeside districts; the prevalence of life jacket use, and community knowledge and attitudes regarding water safety. Subjects were recruited as they disembarked from boats. A structured questionnaire was used for demographics, experience on water, details of incidents in water, and awareness of drowning prevention measures. Focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews were held. The study interviewed 544 participants; 81.1% male, 86.8% below 45 years, and 51.1% involved in the fishing industry. A quarter (26.1%) of the respondents were observed wearing life jackets as they disembarked. Participants who had been in a boat that nearly capsized (57.8%), or that actually capsized (21.7%), were no more likely to wear life jackets than those who had not had these experiences. Three quarters (73.2%) did not know how to call for rescue, and only 48.7% could swim. There drowning fatality rate in this community was 502 deaths per 100,000 population. Majority of drowning events occurred during transportation (51.7%) or fishing (39.0%). The most frequently mentioned factors were stormy weather and overloading. Drowning is a common threat to young adults in the fishing communities around Lake Victoria. Few preventive interventions are in place.