The Cost-Effectiveness of Lifesaving Interventions in Sweden

In this article, we discuss under what conditions an estimated cost per statistical life saved can be interpreted as an implied lifevalue. Furthermore, we state optimality conditions with respect to variation in implied lifevalues. The cost-effectiveness, together with references, are presented for 165 lifesaving interventions in Sweden. The cost-effectiveness of interventions has been found in publicly available analyses, or in some cases been calculated by us. Several of these interventions produce net savings for society. The most expensive interventions cost several hundred million SEK, or more, per life saved. To improve the comparability of the interventions, certain criteria have been used to standardize the estimates. Still, dissimilarities in the calculation of implied life values remain and the quality of the original data is in some cases uncertain. Despite this and the fact that the interventions are not a representative sample, it is nevertheless possible to conclude that implied life values vary greatly both within and between different sectors of the Swedish society, much in the same manner as in current U.S. analyses.     

Heteroscedasticity Robust Panel Unit Root Tests

This article proposes new unit root tests for panels where the errors may be not only serial and/or cross-correlated, but also unconditionally heteroscedastic. Despite their generality, the test statistics are shown to be very simple to implement, requiring only minimal corrections and still the limiting distributions under the null hypothesis are completely free from nuisance parameters. Monte Carlo evidence is also provided to suggest that the new tests perform well in small samples, also when compared to some of the existing tests. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.     

Communicative or strategic action – an examination of fundamental issues in the theory of communicative action

The study focuses on two types of social action – communicative and strategic – and examines whether they have different effects on the competence to act. Competence is understood here as a feeling of being able to handle a situation, which includes the participants' interpretation of the situation at hand, 'concealing of their action' and the intention to perform the act. Communicative action is a consensus–oriented process built upon the parties' mutual definitions of how to reach a goal. Strategic action is a way to more directly reach a goal where influencing and manipulating the other can take place. This thesis was investigated by means of an experimental study. The results indicate that communicative action seems to be connected with openness to diversity and individual experiences. It was also shown how the subtle expression of unaccepted power can disturb feelings of being capable and disturb the balance between one's self–respect and the other person's authority. This disturbance is caused not only by the content of the dialogue but also by the manner in which the encounter takes place. The results give partial confirmation to the thesis underlying the theory of communicative action.     

On the asymptotic distribution of the Dickey Fuller-GLS test statistic

In a very influential paper, Elliott et al. [Efficient tests for an autoregressive unit root. Econometrica. 1996;64:813–836] show that no uniformly most powerful test for the unit root testing problem exits, derive the relevant power envelope and characterize a family of point-optimal tests. As a by-product, they also propose a ‘generalized least squares (GLS) detrended’ version of the conventional Dickey–Fuller test, denoted DF-GLS, that has since then become very popular among practitioners, much more so than the point-optimal tests. In view of this, it is quite strange to find that, while conjectured in Elliott et al. [Efficient tests for an autoregressive unit root. Econometrica. 1996;64:813–836], so far there seems to be no formal proof of the asymptotic distribution of the DF-GLS test statistic. By providing three separate proofs, the current paper not only substantiates the required result, but also provides insight regarding the pros and cons of different methods of proof.     

The Universal Decline of Universality? Social Policy Change in Canada,Denmark, Sweden and the UK

The debate about the future of universal social programmes has been raging for years, both in social‐democratic and in liberal welfare states. The objective of this article is to contribute to the literature on universality by analyzing the evolution of universal social programmes in two social‐democratic and two liberal countries: Denmark, Sweden, Canada and the UK. This choice of countries provides the opportunity to investigate whether the principle and practice of universality has fared differently both within and between countries. The analysis focuses primarily on the national level while exploring three policy areas: pensions, healthcare and family policy, specifically child benefits and day care. The main conclusion of our comparative analysis is clear: among our two liberal and two social‐democratic countries, the institutional strength of universality varies greatly from one policy area and one country to another. Considering this, there is no such a thing as a universal decline of universality.     

New Simple Tests for Panel Cointegration

ABSTRACT

In this paper, two new simple residual-based panel data tests are proposed for the null of no cointegration. The tests are simple because they do not require any correction for the temporal dependencies of the data. Yet they are able to accommodate individual specific short-run dynamics, individual specific intercept and trend terms, and individual specific slope parameters. The limiting distributions of the tests are derived and are shown to be free of nuisance parameters. The Monte Carlo results in this paper suggest that the asymptotic results are borne out well even in very small samples.     

Vulnerable children's rights to participation,protection, and provision: The process of defining the problem in Swedish child and family welfare

This study addresses the relationship between children's participation and the protection and provision offered to them by social services in Sweden. It applies a theoretical framework for analysing child welfare that is anchored in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. How child participation may affect child protection and provision is examined empirically using case documentation from 2 municipalities. The main finding is that when children are not given voice or opportunity to influence the framing of what “the problem” is, the design of protection and care tends to be poorly matched to the actual problems documented in the child investigation and vice versa; when children can influence framing, this is associated with well‐matched protection and care. This suggests that traditional child welfare ethos, to the effect that protection should be of such overriding concern that children even should be protected from participation, is misguided. The study further illustrates the intrinsic problems with the family orientation of Swedish social services and its reliance on partnership with parents, which makes it difficult to live up to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Incorporating child participation into existing service models can transform Swedish social services to an augmented child‐focused system that by ensuring participation also promotes protection and provision.     

A modularised typology for flow design based on decoupling points – a holistic view on process industries and discrete manufacturing industries

Management of production activities covers a wide range of decisions. In this paper, a modularised approach is suggested that, through configuration, generates a case-specific flow design. The approach is based on identification of decision categories that are generic and fundamental in the flow design, covering both discrete manufacturing industries and process industries. Each decision category identifies a unique property of the flow which changes at a particular point: this is termed a ‘decoupling point’. A three-dimensional modularised typology is developed by combining three different decision categories. Cases from the steel industry and the tooling industry are used to illustrate how the typology can be applied. The modularised approach provides a typology for the application of both qualitative and quantitative methods for flow management, including planning, control and performance management.     

Small firms in multipartner R&D alliances: Gaining benefits by acquiescing

This study highlights how smaller firms gain advantages through exchange strategies in alliances. Based on a sample of 141 firms involved in multipartner alliances governed by cooperative exchange norms, our findings support the hypothesis that smaller firms are more likely than larger firms to comply with cooperative exchange norms. This finding is especially valid for firms in manufacturing industries and can positively influence new product development. This study is a starting point for additional research investigating how, when, and why firms can benefit from engaging in multipartner alliances, even if they are a relatively small player.     

Designing interorganizational networks for innovation: An empirical examination of network configuration, formation and governance

Strategic SME networks have received significant policy attention, yet a review of the current literature reveals limited attention to the factors that contribute to network innovation. This study examines the influence of the number of member firms (network size), the extent to which a network is based on firm incentives (bottom-up formation), and the extent of development of the governance structure (size of administrative function) on a network's innovative performance. Latent growth modeling with longitudinal data from 53 networks reveals that larger networks and bottom-up formed networks achieve greater innovative performance, and that the administrative function partially mediates these effects.