Trends in Marital Instability in Italy in the 1980s

ABSTRACT The authors describe the most recent trends in separation and divorce in Italy using ISTAT data for the 1980–1991 period. The analysis shows a rising instability of marriage and thus a lessening of the gap between Italy and other western countries. The total divorce rate rose from three percent in the early 1980s to eight percent at the end of the 1980s. The analysis shows that the increasing breakdown of marriages is not due to “changes in timing” but to a real trend of ending marriages. Older couples have contributed more than younger couples to more unstable marriages over the past decade. Other variables continue today, as in the past, to be closely related to the instability of marriage in Italy.     

小样本协整系统的检验

采用Mon te Carlo 模拟方法, 给出了小样本容量下协整检验临界值的响应面( respon se su rface) 方程. 结果表明小样本协整检验的临界值不仅与样本容量有关, 还依赖于协整检验中 的滞后阶数. 最后对中国城镇居民的食品消费进行了小样本协整分析.     

Ambiguity in the Small and in the Large

This paper considers local and global multiple‐prior representations of ambiguity for preferences that are (i) monotonic, (ii) Bernoullian, that is, admit an affine utility representation when restricted to constant acts, and (iii) locally Lipschitz continuous. We do not require either certainty independence or uncertainty aversion. We show that the set of priors identified by Ghirardato, Maccheroni, and Marinacci's (2004) “unambiguous preference” relation can be characterized as a union of Clarke differentials. We then introduce a behavioral notion of “locally better deviation” at an act and show that it characterizes the Clarke differential of the preference representation at that act. These results suggest that the priors identified by these preference statements are directly related to (local) optimizing behavior.     

供应链的协作供应问题研究

当供应链某活动环节的物资需求量过大时, 一个供应点常常不能提供其全部所需物资. 因此, 实际应用中需要多个供应点共同参与. 针对供应链物资需求的特点, 提出了多点协作供 应的数学模型, 通过引入可行方案的定义, 给出了可行方案存在的判定定理, 以及可行方案的 构造方法. 然而一个可行方案可能包含太多的供应点(太多的供应点有时意味着较高的生产准 备费用) , 因此该方案可能并不实用. 考虑到方案可靠性及费用, 给出了求取优化方案的一个启 发式方法. 最后对模型的系统软件集成进行了简单探讨     

网上创新竞争中解答者对发布者的信任问题研究

困扰网上创新竞争发展的一个重要因素是发布者作弊问题,它降低了解答者对发布者的信任,网络平台也采取各种方法监督作弊行为。为此,研究2个紧密关联的问题:①影响解答者对发布者信任的因素;②网络平台如何设定合适的监督水平。对问题①,基于信任理论构建研究模型,通过大样本问卷调研检验假设,结果表明:现有的信誉机制作用不显著,而网络平台本身的信誉和解答者满意度对信任有显著影响。实证研究结果凸显了网络平台服务水平的重要性,也是研究问题②的驱动因素。问题②的研究方法是博弈论,通过逆向求解,分析网络平台如何平衡成本和信誉来制定监督水平。最后,给出了主要结论以及未来的研究方向。     

One-stop health care shopping in America--made in India

A multispecialty group practice in southern Maryland offers patients a multitude of services, while all billing and record keeping is completed overnight in India.     

Money in Search Equilibrium,in Competitive Equilibrium,and in Competitive Search Equilibrium

We compare three market structures for monetary economies: bargaining (search equilibrium); price taking (competitive equilibrium); and price posting (competitive search equilibrium). We also extend work on the microfoundations of money by allowing a general matching technology and entry. We study how equilibrium and the effects of policy depend on market structure. Under bargaining, trade and entry are both inefficient, and inflation implies first‐order welfare losses. Under price taking, the Friedman rule solves the first inefficiency but not the second, and inflation may actually improve welfare. Under posting, the Friedman rule yields the first best, and inflation implies second‐order welfare losses.     

从价差看A、B股市场投资理念的差别

同股同权的A、B股价格上却存在着巨大差异,这一现象引起了广泛的研究,同时为我们研究两个市场中投资者投资理念上是否存在差异提供了一个很好的机会,通过实证分析认为投资理念的差别是导致A、B股巨大价差的原因之一。     

批评应把握好原则

领导者不仅担负着管理单位日常事务的责任,也担负着教育下属的任务。当下属在工作中出现错误时,给予适当的批评不仅是必要的,而且是重要的。批评作为领导者的一种执政活动方式,有其独特的内在规律性。     

Public Trust in Government Concerning Tobacco Control in Japan

This study investigated public trust and its determinants concerning the government's control of tobacco in Japan. We focused on the two issues of government policies to ban smoking by minors and increase taxes on tobacco. We conducted a questionnaire survey in which respondents were asked to assess their trust in the government, the government's fairness and competency, and their value similarity with the government. One thousand three hundred and ninety-four respondents agreed to participate in the survey out of 2,600 randomly sampled adults over 20 years old from all over Japan. The results of multiple regression analysis confirmed that value similarity is the strongest predictor of public trust in the government. On the affirmatively supported issue of prohibiting smoking among minors, the results further indicated that assessment of competency is a stronger predictor than assessment of fairness. In contrast, assessment of fairness is a stronger predictor than assessment of competency for the still divided issue of increasing tobacco tax. Respondents who had low concern and had not formed clear opinions on the issues showed a weak link between assessment of value similarity and trust. Based on these findings, we considered the implications for the government's implementation of tobacco controls.     

Government publishing in microform in Canada: A survey

This issue of the column continues its survey of microform publishing by international and national agencies. Emphasis in this issue is placed on Canada and its rapidly developing programs for micropublishing. Mrs. Suzanne Dodson, Head of the Government Publications and Microforms Division at the University Library of the University of British Columbia provides an outstanding summary of various activities currently taking place in the various provinces as well as at the national government. We certainly are pleased to have Dodson as guest column editor for this issue.Although there are, indeed, many similarities between Canada and the United States regarding the development of microformatted material, some critical differences exist. Perhaps the most important one being the issue of copyright. In Canada, the existence of Crown Copyright means that the copyright to everything produced by the government automatically belongs to the government and government publications may not be reproduced without the government's permission. Thus, commercial publication of government documents has been somewhat restrained.Nonetheless, excellent commercial publications as well as national publications have been produced and are being developed. These are identified and described in detail by Dodson. Document librarians around the world will profit by a careful review of Dodson's commentary as a means to update their knowledge about micropublishing in Canada. Clearly, the Canadians are “on the move” and Dodson's excellent review suggests a number of ideas and innovations that are of value to anyone concerned with microformatted government publications.     

论村级负债的区域差异--农民行动单位的视角

学界与政策部门往往从地方政府积极性的差异,及区域经济发展水平的差异,来解释乡村治理的区域差异。本文以村级债务的区域差异为例,试图从农村社会内部的差异:其中之一即农民认同与行动单位差异的角度,来解释乡村治理的区域差异。本文不仅提供了一个理论框架,而且借公开发表的关于全国及地区村级债务报告的数据,检验了从农民行动单位视角解释村级债务区域差异的有效性。     

Healthy lower backs in the construction industry in Sweden

This corss-sectional study exmaines the relationship between healthy lower and psychosocial and physical factors in a random sample of 1773 male construction workers. Infoamtion on lower back status, lifestyle habits, stress, psychosomatic and psychological symptoms, psychosocizal demands and resoruces and physical workload were collected by means of a postal questionnaire. Measures of psycholocial and physical factors were based on factor analysis of the data. The criterion variable 'healthy lower back' (HLB)—no lifetime history of low back pain—proved to be valid compared with an interview and a physical examination. A total of 216 workers (12%) reported HLB. The prevalance rate decreased significantly with increasing age. The prevalence rate of HLB was 6% among workers reporting high stress levels. It was postively influenced when there was a balance between demands and resoruces. A low level of physical workload also increased the prevalence rate of HLB. When age, lifestyle and physical factors were kept constant in a multivariate analysis high scores on the discretions index and low scores on eh psychosomatic, psychological and stress indices cosntributed significantly to an increase prevalence rate of HLB.     

Pharmaceuticals in Australia: priorities in a teaching hospital

In spite of rigorous government programs for control of the pricing and dissemination of pharmaceutical products in Australia, the list of new drugs continues to grow and prices to increase. To regain control over drug usage at Royal Adelaide Hospital, the Hospital Drug Committee developed a rating method that judged drugs on the basis of their cost-benefit to patients. The ratio of a total quality score to a total cost score becomes the determinant of additions to the hospital formulary. The background for the Australian approach to pharmaceuticals and the new evaluation technique at the teaching hospital are described in this report.     

Changes in occupational mix in engineering 1964–1972

Changes in the occupational structure could arise from different rates of output, and hence employment, growth in sectors of engineering or from changes in the occupational mix of the sectors. Almost all the change arises from the latter and, more importantly, the rate of change is not constant. Changes in the sector occupational mix will follow from investment and an understanding of this relationship is crucial to progress in manpower demand forecasting.     

Modelling police success in catching burglars in the act

This paper is concerned with determining which factors influence the chances of the police catching the domestic burglar in the act. It is based on a 6-month study of ‘in progress’ burglary,¹ funded by the UK Home Office’s Policing and Crime Reducing Unit. Data were collected from the police records for the whole of a Regional Police Force. Binary regression models are developed which indicate the relative importance of individual burglary characteristics and the nature of the police response in determining the chance of a successful arrest at, or near, the crime-scene. Adjustments to the resourcing and organisation of police patrolling in order to improve capture rates are likely to prove successful only where burglary circumstances are favourable.     

The Rise in Union Wage Premiums in South Africa

The earnings premium received by African, urban, male union members in South Africa, as compared to other regular, urban male employees, is explored using two national sample surveys conducted in 1985 and 1993. The historical setting of this change is of particular interest, in the light of the transformation from the apartheid regime. Union membership grew very rapidly during this interval, as earlier prohibitions on African unions were lifted. Subsequently, the high rates of unemployment and segmentation of the labor force have been issues of central concern to the new government, elected in 1994. In this context, the paper extends prior methodology, by systematically comparing possible approaches to estimation, in addition to contributing fresh empirical results. Four approaches to estimation are adopted, allowing for: a single earnings regime with union dummy variable; the possibility of different earnings regimes among union members as compared to non‐members; endogenous switching between such regimes; sample selection arising from lack of employment and from division between regular and informal work. A series of tests on nested specifications indicate the importance of recognizing endogenous switching between differing pay structures in the covered and uncovered sectors. However (as with previous research on the South African labor market), no sample selection is detected with respect to employment status. The results suggest that collective bargaining resulted in wage compression among the expanding union membership while significantly widening the gap between members and non‐members. The latter widening gap cannot be attributed to the changing composition of union membership as reflected in observed characteristics of employees.     

Recent changes in long range corporate planning in Japan

In his article the author discusses an emerging new stage in Japanese long range corporate planning which reflects the struggles of Japanese companies against the new economic situation in which it is very difficult to enjoy a high economic growth rate. Among the many long range plans launched in 1976 and 1977 Hitachi's new long range plan provides an excellent illustration of the main features of the struggles. Using Hitachi as an example various new aspects manifested in Stage IV of Japanese long range corporate planning are described with reference to the economic and social background and its implications for Japanese companies.     

Price-quality relationships in the fresh produce industry in Bali

As the number of tourist arrivals in Bali (Indonesia) continues to increase, a greater number of opportunities are emerging for local farmers to expand production to meet the increasing demand for food. While there are various production and marketing constraints which limit the ability of small farmers to individually meet the hotels quality specifications, this paper demonstrates how collector agents and distributors are able to assemble sufficient produce to meet the quality specifications imposed by the high class hotels. Intense competition between the many distributors for a share of the hotels patronage has resulted in a significant reduction in price, so much so, that the second grade produce which fails to meet the specifications of the high class hotels, often achieves a higher price in the wet market. Consequently, the small, lower class hotels, who purchase the majority of fresh produce they require from the wet market, experience much greater problems with both variable product quality and price. Not unexpectedly, under the current system of marketing, there are no financial incentives to encourage local farmers to improve product quality.