A generalization of the matching distribution

The Matching Distribution converges to a Poisson Distribution with λ=1 as the parameter n converges to infinity. A generalization of the Matching Distribution is proposed. The properties of this Generalized Matching Distribution (GMD) turn out to be analogical to the case with λ=1.     

Inequality of opportunity in the United Kingdom, 1991–2008

We investigate the extent to which the tax-and-transfer system of the United Kingdom equalizes opportunities for income attainment among citizens. Within the framework of Roemer’s theory of Equality of Opportunity, and using individual data from the British Household Panel Survey from 1991 to 2008, we calculate the tax rates necessary to equalize opportunities for different circumstances. We provide a ranking of these circumstances by the degree to which they influence income attainment. Although pre-fisc equality of opportunity increases over time, the tax rate necessary to equalize opportunities remains higher than the observed tax rate. Only under a relatively high labour supply elasticity the observed UK tax rate fares well in equalizing opportunities for income attainment.     

环境税改革与绿色增长:欧洲视角

欧洲的环境税改革可以追溯到20世纪90年代初,但自2001年起却经历了一个持续的发展低谷阶段,而最近,日益严厉的碳减排目标和众多欧洲政府通过税收来减少公共赤字的需要相结合,正在促成人们对碳/能源税和环境税改革兴趣的再度提升。本文的基本观点是,环境税改革是一种促进绿色增长的政策,也就是带来在欧洲和其他地方的环境可持续的经济增长,而欧洲范围内的环境税改革是欧盟实现2020年减排目标十分有效而经济的手段,尤其是在全球性气候合作的背景下。此外,它还可以用来提高一般意义上的资源利用效率。环境税改革是欧洲应对全球气候变化的一个巨大政策机遇,它不仅代价较低,而且有助于就业、技术革新和可以长期经济发展的新工业,而这些都是来自公共政策的巨大收益。因而,环境税改革理应成为实现温室气体大幅度削减目标的政策工具组合中的重要组成部分。当然,这有赖于欧盟政治家和决策者找到应对环境税改革可能引致的诸多政治挑战的方法,从而代表欧洲实现这一改革的预期收益。     

Caveat Venditor? Museum Merchandising, Nonprofit Commercialization, and the Case of the Metropolitan Museum in New York

This paper reviews some of the underpinnings of the current commercialization debate in the nonprofit sector, based on an analysis of Metropolitan Museum of Art data from 1960 to 2002. The case suggests at least two avenues for additional research: First, while analysts tend to see the origins of the commercialization phenomenon in the fiscal setbacks of the 1980s, the economic crisis of the 1970s and the resulting erosion of endowment funds may also have been an as of yet unexplored driving force behind the commercialization trend. Second, current conceptual frameworks of the phenomenon adequately explain the motivations behind the observable rise of the museum's commercial activities. However, the changing rationales as well as economic fortunes of commercial activities in this case highlight the need for a better understanding of the long-term effects and consequences of commercial activity by nonprofit organizations, particularly in light of the current push for increased entrepreneurialism.

Exploring the Interaction Between Volunteering Status,Paid Job Characteristics and Quality of Volunteers’ Motivation on Mental Health

The literature on the health-promoting effects of community work has primarily dealt with the population in retirement age, yet the vast majority of volunteers are people still in the workforce. The aim of this study is to observe the relationship between volunteering and health within the context of working life, considering paid work conditions and motives to volunteer as moderating variables. We conducted an online survey with a sample of Swiss workers employed in different industries. Results show that volunteers with self-determined motives (but not with controlled motives) report lower levels of stress and burnout than non-volunteers. Moreover, volunteers in general (regardless of the quality of motivation) report higher levels of work engagement and well-being. Analyses further reveal an interaction effect for burnout and stress, where the difference between self-determined volunteers and non-volunteers becomes larger with unfavorable working conditions at their paid job, hinting at potential compensatory effects. Implications for future research and the voluntary sector are discussed.     

German sociology of law

Although several founders of sociology had a German mother-tongue and German jurisprudence may be the leader in systematic legal dogmatism, these factors have not worked in tandem to produce an influential law and society movement in Germany.¹ To the contrary, these two scientific cultures were split throughout most of the twentieth century and thus left little opportunity for producing a sociology of law. This article outlines the development of the sociology of law in Germany, sketches its current state, and concludes with a cautious forecast.     

Zentralisierung durch Dezentralisierung

Paradoxical slogans such as “controlled autonomy”, “externally organized self-organization”, “centralistic decentralization” and “regulated anarchy” point to strategies by the management which make use of two seemingly contradictory phenomena: the advantages in innovation and efficiency that are implied in decentralized self-organization on the one hand and the advantages in synergy and control that come with a centralized management on the other hand. Starting from this assumption on the combination of centralization and decentralization as a deliberate management strategy, the results of a case study are discussed which was conducted in a medium-sized German company. This leads to a re-consideration and partial reversal of the original assumption. It is shown that, rather than being a strategy intentionally employed by the management, “centralization by decentralization” was an unintended side-effect of the introduction of team structures on several hierarchical levels which originally was a part of decentralization.     

Mutual Tuning of Multiple Trajectories

In this article, I offer a pragmatist conceptual framework to link the sociology of health and illness with the sociology of science and technology. Starting from an examination of the practice of doing medicine and science, I extend Anselm Strauss's trajectory concept to analyze the temporality and processual character of an evolving phenomenon in two important ways. First, I analyze how a single trajectory emerges out of the interaction of multiple trajectories and how emerging and existing trajectories shape each other with differential power. Second, in accord with recent writings in science and technology studies, agency is extended from humans to non-humans. I discuss different origin and ending strategies of trajectories and the management of trajectories over time.