Macroeconomic determinants of migration: the case of Germany, 1964-1988

Macroeconomic determinants of immigration are analysed with pooled cross-country and time series data on net immigration to Germany from European countries during 1964-1988.
Results demonstrate clearly that both high and low frequency determinants have been important. Long run trends are determined by the degree and speed of per capita income convergence between the sending and receiving countries, while year-to-year changes in net immigration flows are dominated by cyclical economic conditions.     

Antecedents of Union Commitment: The Impact of Union Membership Differences in Vertical Dyads and Work Group Relationships

Relational demography has recently been employedto investigate the influence of workplace diversity onorganizational outcomes, such as organizationalcommitment, turnover, and performance (O Reilly,Caldwell, & Barnett, 1989; Tsui & O Reilly, 1989;Tsui, Egan, & O Reilly, 1992; Tsui, Egan, &Porter, 1994). In the present study, we utilize thetechniques and theoretical framework employed in the relational demography literature to examine theimpact of heterogeneous union membership status withinwork groups and vertical dyads, and the effect of thesedifferences on union commitment. A composite dataset was created from two Australianhospitals. Analyses of the data were confined to 460nursing staff who could be identified within 43 specificwork groups (hospital wards). The results indicate that while no relationship was found betweendifferences in membership status among co-workers inwork groups on commitment, differences between membersand their supervisors served to decrease union loyalty and belief in unionism (controlling for otherunion and organizational factors). Importantly, we foundsupport for an interaction effect between work groupsand vertical dyads. Differences in membership status among co-workers were observed to lowerunion loyalty and willingness to work for the union whensupervisors were nonunion members. The implications ofsuch findings for union policy are addressed.     

The Impact of the Rural Population Component on Homicide Rates in the United States: A County-Level Analysis

Abstract Using 3,130 U.S. counties or county equivalents, this paper provides a test of the impact of rural population on the violent crime of homicide, while controlling for the effects of other correlates. The results indicate that the traditional bond of group cohesion assumed to be associated with the rural environment and its residents continues to have an inhibiting effect on homicide for counties in the United States.     

The delayed transition from folk to labor migration: the Netherlands, 1880-1920

"This article analyzes Netherlands government statistics on overseas emigration, 1880-1920, which reveal that the process of industrialization caused a major social structural shift in the 1890s. A system of urban labor migration replaced the traditional rural folk movement and the primary destination shifted away from the United States to Dutch colonies in Asia and South America. The Netherlands belatedly 'caught up' with the rest of Western Europe in the shift from family to industrial overseas emigrants."     

Economy and Divorces: Their Impact Over Time on the Self-Employment Rates in Spain

The paper used time-series data and examined the effect of economic and social variables on the male and female self-employment rates in Spain. We also employed cointegration analysis (with and without) structural breaks. We thus find strong evidence that long run relationships exist among the variables. More precisely, we find that the unemployment rates and the ratio of self-employment to employees’ earnings have a positive effect on self-employment, whereas, economic development and divorce rates have a negative effect. Importantly, we find that the economic variables have equal or stronger long run impact on females than males, with both groups reacting to changes in family circumstances. Finally, we show that the short run family circumstances are better predictors of self-employment choices rather than economic factors, with self-employment being a means of adjustment to new personal circumstances and economic needs.     

The irrelevance of evidence in the development of school-based drug prevention policy, 1986-1996

This article examines development in school-based drug prevention policy and programming since the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986. Using data from national surveys and evaluations of school-based programs, it argues, first, that there was really no need for a massive infusion of money into school-based drug prevention in the late 1980s, and, second, that there was little or no evidence to indicate that a "new generation" of effective programs, based on the so-called social influence model, was emerging at this time. Despite the infusion of resources into school-based prevention efforts, adolescent drug use has risen in recent years. Moreover, evaluations continue to show that the effectiveness of social influence programs is very much in the eye of the beholder. Fundamental questions need to be asked of school-based drug prevention--just as they should be asked of other key components of our current drug control policy.     

Constructing ruralities: The case of the Hobbitstee,Netherlands

Rural intentional communities withdraw from mainstream urban space, rejecting its materialism and consumption. In creating their own places in the countryside, they produce new spaces of rurality. Constructions of rurality by intentional communities can be perceived as ‘out of place’ by local populations. This article draws on a wider study on the life-course of intentional communities, i.e. processes of growth, persistence, transformation, decline, and disintegration. We focus on ruralities as social constructions, by discussing the example of the community of the Hobbitstee in its relation with its rural surroundings in the Netherlands. This is done through an analysis of the life course of the Hobbitstee since its establishment in 1969 onwards. The results show that relations between locals and community members are characterised by diversity and multiplicity. In general, their constructions of rurality gradually and partly developed from conflicting to converging.     

Development and Social Problems: The Impact of the Offshore Oil Industry on Suicide and Homicide Rates1

Abstract There are few studies in the literature concerning economic development that examine the impact of offshore oil and gas extraction on communities and even fewer that use annual data, examine more than one community and account for the degree of involvement of the community in the oil industry. This study rectifies these problems. The results support hypotheses derived from social disorganization and relative deprivation theories by demonstrating that higher levels of and rapid changes in development are associated with higher homicide and suicide rates, especially in communities that are more involved in resource extraction. The utility of the methods and the implications of the results for theory and future research are discussed.     

Army Soldiers and Suicidal Thoughts: The Impact of Negative Relationship Dynamics Moderated by the Dissolution of Romantic Relationships

Suicide among United States active‐duty Army soldiers rapidly increased over the past two decades. Using a sample of 322 soldiers from the Army STARRS study, the researchers examined if romantic relationship factors (i.e., hostile disagreements and relationship distress) were linked with suicidal thoughts in Army soldiers, and if these associations were moderated by a recent separation or divorce. Hostile disagreements and relational distress were both significantly associated with higher rates of suicidal ideation. These associations were significantly amplified in magnitude when in the context of a recent separation or divorce. Implications include novel assessment, prevention, and treatment efforts focused on romantic relationships that may reduce the likelihood of soldiers experiencing thoughts of suicide.     

Guilds in the transition to modernity: The cases of Germany,United Kingdom,and the Netherlands

One important aspect of the transition to modernity is the survival of elements of the Old Regime beyond the French Revolution. It has been claimed that this can explain why in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries some Western countries adopted national corporatist structures while others transformed into liberal market economies. One of those elements is the persistence or absence of guild traditions. This is usually analyzed in a national context. This article aims to contribute to the debate by investigating the development of separate trades in Germany, the United Kingdom, and The Netherlands throughout the nineteenth century. We distinguish six scenarios of what might have happened to crafts and investigate how the prevalence of each of these scenarios in the three countries had an impact on the emerging national political economies. By focusing on trades, rather than on the national political economy, our analysis demonstrates that in each country the formation of national political economies and citizenship rights was not the result of a national pattern of guild survival. Rather, the pattern that emerged by the end of the nineteenth century was determined by the balance between old and new industries, and that between national and regional or local government.