The effects of davis-bacon on labor cost and union wages

Two issues have seriously hampered studies of the impact of the Davis-Bacon Act. The first is that one must make assumptions about what the distribution of wages would be in the absence of the statute. It is shown that cost estimates are quite sensitive to these assumptions. The second is that while Davis-Bacon determinations may increase nonunion wages, they are also likely to increase the bargaining power of unions leading to higher union wages. Simply estimating the impact on nonunion wages therefore underestimates the true effect. Union wages are both determined by and a determinant of Davis-Bacon wages. It is found that Davis-Bacon determinations exert a significant influence on the union’s ability to gain higher wages. I would like to thank Joseph DiMasi and David Alexander for comments and discussion on an earlier version of this paper. Special thanks are due an anonymous referee for his support and suggestions.     

Informal kin caregivers raising children left behind in rural China: Experiences' feelings' and support

The well‐being of children in informal kinship care and their caregivers is a growing concern globally. This study explored the lived experiences of 23 kin caregivers raising children left behind in rural Northeast China while their migrant parents worked and lived in cities. The findings show that the expected authority and responsibility caregivers carry sometimes conflict with their social role of being children's grandparents. Caregivers' feelings about and understandings of these roles are shaped through their social interactions in local communities. In view of their situation and caregivers' self‐conscious attitudes towards utilizing local resources' future formal service provision and social support should take caregivers' viewpoints into account. These views are embedded in and shaped by their rural living context and relationships with community members who influence caregivers' perceptions and child rearing practices.     

Child sexual abuse suspicions: treatment considerations during investigation

This article addresses what, if any, psychotherapeutic interventions should be provided to meet the emotional and clinical needs of alleged child victims of sexual abuse while they await judicial determinations from the family, dependency, or criminal courts. The discussion emphasizes that to minimize iatrogenic outcomes, professionals involved in sexual abuse allegation cases should carefully establish and maintain professional role boundaries and take on only one role in a case. Professional roles may include an investigative forensic interviewer, court appointed forensic evaluator, and therapist. Special attention is given to complex issues that arise in child custody cases with allegations of child sexual abuse in family court.     

展望一种可持续的后现代生态文明

遏制贪婪和其它欲望是个体幸福的关键,同时也是一笔共同财富。西方资本主义一直以贪婪和欲望作为经济发展的动力,这是直接导致过度消费、债务和不可持续性的根源。中国在这件事情上会更加聪明,去努力建设一个可持续的后现代生态文明,拥抱自由和有创造力的自由市场体系,同时拒绝西方破坏性的贪婪和欲望。