The psychological contract: retaining newly employed physicians

You spend lots of time and money recruiting the best candidates to fill your physician positions. But sometimes you lose those physicians after only a year or two on the job. Discover ways to help stop the turnover and keep valued employees happy.     

Can preferences for catastrophe avoidance reconcile social discounting with intergenerational equity?

A social welfare function treating all generations equally is derived from a set of axioms that allow for preferences for catastrophe avoidance or risk equity. Implications for the case where there is a risk of world extinction are studied. We show that substantial time discounting can arise from the planner’s taste for catastrophe avoidance, even if the probability of the world ending is infinitesimally small. We wish to thank Marc Fleurbaey, Thibault Gajdos, two anonymous referees and an associate editor for many valuable comments.     

The inherent tensions within sustainable supply chains: a case study from Bangladesh

Abstract

The complexities surrounding the supply chain logistics for perishable commodities within Bangladesh are extensive. Poor infrastructure, fragmented transportation and corruption compound the operational complexities within this emerging market. This case study analyses many of the day-to-day operational challenges and tensions inherent within Micro-Small-Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) forming the backbone of the Bangladesh socio-economic structure. The drive for transition toward greater levels of sustainability and corporate responsibility is problematic, affecting many levels within an extended and fragmented supply chain. The selected case study highlights the ‘lived in’ geographical, environmental, economic and cultural factors that impact the ability of emerging market enterprises to remain profitable within emergency scenarios whilst transitioning toward a more sustainable model. This study, whilst detailing many of the tensions and critical issues facing MSMEs, highlights the benefits of direct Government intervention, criticality of a leaner and more efficient supply chain and reassessment of financial incentives to drive the transition to a more efficient and sustainable economy.     

Intrahousehold empowerment gaps in agriculture and children's well‐being in Bangladesh

This article examines the relationship between empowerment gaps between spouses and children's nutritional status and education using nationally representative data from the 2012 Bangladesh Integrated Household Survey. We measure relative empowerment of spouses using the recently developed Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index. We find that while gender gaps in empowerment are only linked weakly to children's nutritional status, fathers’ and mothers’ empowerment have different effects on investment in children. Fathers’ empowerment is positively associated with younger children's nutrition and schooling, while mothers’ empowerment is more important for girls’ education in general and in keeping older boys and girls in school.     

Whither MDG 5 in Bangladesh and its regions?

This paper analyses the trends and regional variations in the target achievement of MDG 5 of improving maternal health in Bangladesh. Based on the analysis of secondary data a comparison is made between the rate of progress required for each indicator of the goal to achieve its target by 2015 from 2000, the current rate of progress (between 2000 and 2011) and the rate of progress required between 2011 and 2015 to achieve the targets. The findings suggest a substantial difference among the regions with respect to the adopted indicators of improving maternal health. For example, consistent with the highest and lowest levels of maternal mortality ratio (MMR), the divisions (administrative regions) of Khulna and Sylhet respectively also have the highest and lowest percentages of births delivered in health facilities and assisted by skilled health personnel. However, the second highest percentage of births delivered in a health facility in Chittagong does not accord with its high MMR. This kind of variation reveals that overall improvement in MMR may not necessarily result in complete achievement of the goal of improved maternal health. Rather, there are some gaps and challenges in each region, which need to be addressed and acted upon accordingly. The findings of this paper contribute to knowledge about the persistence of regional inequalities in MDG 5 in Bangladesh, even if the goals are met at the national level. The findings will also be useful in preparing a road map for ensuring the health and wellbeing of all mothers in Bangladesh under the new Sustainable Development Goals.     

Book Review: Learning NGOs and the Dynamics of Development Partnership,by Farhad Hossain,Marko Ulvila,and Ware Newaz (eds.). Dhaka Ahsania Mission,Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2000

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations -     

A complete and strongly anonymous leximin relation on infinite streams

Various extensions of the leximin order to the infinite dimensional setting have been suggested. They relax completeness and strong anonymity. Instead, by removing sensitivity to generations at infinite rank this paper defines a complete and strongly anonymous leximin relation on infinite streams. The order is axiomatized, and it is shown to be the limit of extended rank-discounted utilitarianism for any utility function, as the discount factor approaches zero.     

Growth Effects of Religion Dependent Social Capital: An Empirical Evidence

Social Indicators Research - There is an imperceptible laxity in literature in finding socio economic effects of social capital by integrating role of religion. However, international surveys data...     

Who Wins and Who Loses? Public Transfer Accounts for US Generations Born 1850 to 2090

Public transfer programs in industrial countries are thought to benefit the elderly through pension and health care programs at the expense of the young and future generations. This intergenerational picture changes, however, if public education is also considered as a transfer program. We calculate the net present value at birth of benefits received minus taxes paid for US generations born 1850 to 2090. Surprisingly, all generations 1950 to 2050 are net gainers, while many current elderly are net losers. Windfall gains from starting Social Security and Medicare partially offset windfall losses from starting public education, roughly consistent with the arguments of Becker and Murphy.