Public and private employment over the business cycle: A ratchet theory of government growth

Previous researchers have attempted to explain the growth in the size of government over time. Some have observed a “ratchet” effect and have attributed these observed jumps in the relative size of government to ideological shifts in response to severe crises. We explain these observed ratchets as the consequence of asymmetries in the response of government employment to the business cycle. A public-choice oriented model of the employment response to the cycle is developed and applied to state and local government employment data. The data confirm the presence of ratchet effects that correspond to the business cycle. Moreover, virtually all of the growth in the ratio of state and local government employment to private employment has occurred during recessions. The authors greatly appreciate the extensive comments of Randall 0. Holcombe and the late Richard McHugh on an earlier draft of this paper. Don Bellantés work on this paper was aided by a grant from the John M. Olin Institute for Employment Practice and Policy.     

Does 'hardiness' predict adaptation to shiftwork?

This longitudinal study examined whether the dimensions of hardiness (commitment, control and challenge) predicted psychological symptoms and dissatisfaction with shiftwork, and whether or not the relationships identified were confounded with neuroticism and extraversion. Female nurses were studied during their first 15 months of shiftwork. Thirty-six nurses worked on a 2-shift (day and evening) schedule throughout and 66 transferred from the 2-shift schedule to a 3-shift (day, evening and night) schedule after 6 months. Hardiness, neuroticism, extraversion and symptoms were measured before the respondents began shiftwork (Stage 1). Symptoms and dissatisfaction were measured after 6 months (Stage 2) and 15 months (Stage 3). Multiple regressions indicated that the hardiness dimensions did not predict dissatisfaction at Stages 2 or 3, or symptoms at Stage 3. They also failed to buffer the effect of night-work on symptoms. However, commitment did predict symptoms at Stages 1 and 2 and challenge predicted symptoms at Stage 2. Although these effects were confounded with neuroticism, commitment showed weak evidence of independent prediction. In general, hardiness was a very poor predictor of shiftwork tolerance.     

REPATRIATION OF DEBT IN THE EURO CRISIS

With the beginning of the Euro Crisis, the long‐standing trend of European financial integration reversed. Investors unwound cross‐border positions of debt obligations and increased holdings of locally issued debt. In other words, debt obligations were repatriated. We use data on bank portfolios to document three new empirical regularities of the financial disintegration: (i) repatriation affected mainly debt of crisis countries; (ii) repatriation affected mainly public debt; (iii) the public debt of crisis countries that was not repatriated was reallocated to large and politically influential countries within the Euro area. We read these results in light of standard theories of cross‐border portfolio allocation and argue that the sum of these patterns constitutes evidence for the secondary market theory of public debt.     

To live an ordinary life: resource needs and additional costs for people with a physical impairment

Disabled people face increased risks of living in poverty largely due to lower incomes and extra resource requirements compared to non-disabled people. This study incorporated the social model of disability with an economic approach to costing to estimate the additional costs required by people with a physical impairment to achieve an adequate standard of living in New Zealand. Budgets estimating the additional equipment, modifications, transport, support and time required to achieve an adequate standard of living were developed and validated through focus groups with community members. The findings suggest that reducing barriers involves substantial costs ranging from NZ$645–$2,348 per week.     

Workplace Flexibility Practices and Corporate Performance: Evidence from the British Private Sector

This paper investigates the relationship between workplace flexibility practices (WFPs) and corporate performance using data from the British Workplace Employment Relations Survey 2004. Disaggregating WFPs into numerical, functional and cost aspects enables the analysis of their relationships to an objective measure of corporate performance, namely workplace financial turnover. Furthermore separate analyses are presented for different types of workplace: differentiated by workforce size; ownership; age; wage level; and unionization. Results show that different types of workplaces need to pay attention to the mix of WFPs they adopt. We find that certain cost WFPs (profit‐related pay, merit pay and payment‐by‐results) have strong positive relationships with corporate performance. However, training delivers mixed corporate performance results, while the extent of job autonomy and the proportion of part‐time employees in a workplace have an inverse association with corporate performance. Given the limited existing research examining disaggregated measures of WFPs and objectively measured corporate performance, this paper offers useful insights for firms, policy makers and the overall economy.     

Corporate political power and US foreign policy, 1981–2002: the role of the policy-planning network

Theory and Society - Recent empirical work has offered strong support for ‘biased pluralism’ and ‘economic elite’ accounts of political power in the United States, according...     

Understanding public attitudes towards Social Security

There has been very little research on why individuals hold different attitudes toward Social Security. In this article we integrate social location theory and political predisposition theory to provide a framework of explanation and test these theories using a unique sample from the 1998 General Social Survey. Our multivariate results reveal that social structural positions along the lines of race, gender, class and age play a more important role than political predispositions in explain-ing individual differences in support for the current Social Security system against privatisation. Political party affiliation also partly contributes to variation in support for Social Security, but political ideology does not have a significant effect. Our results suggest that with regard to support for Social Security, primary consideration must rest on social structural positions. Racial minorities, women, the poor and the elderly tend to dislike a drastic change in the current Social Security system, and Social Security reform ought to pay attention to their concerns. Our robust finding of a positive relationship between age and support for Social Security also challenges much of the established knowledge, pointing to an intergenerational discord over Social Security. It is also important to differentiate among social welfare programmes in order to uncover the real determinants of public attitudes towards them.