Strike Outcomes and Wage Settlements in Spain

Abstract. This paper analyses collective bargaining using Spanish firm‐level data. Central to the analysis are the joint determination of wage and strike outcomes in a dynamic framework and the possibility of separate wage equation for strike and non‐strike outcomes. Conditional to strikes taking place, we confirm a negative relationship between strike duration and wage changes in a dynamic context. In this sense, the joint effect of the strike variables is positive for short strikes and negative for long ones (above 20 days). Furthermore, we find selection in wage equations induced by the strike outcome. In this sense, the possibility of wage determination processes being different in strike and non‐strike samples is not rejected by the data. In particular, wage dynamics are of opposite sign in both strike and non‐strike equations. Finally, we find evidence of a 0.33 percentage points wage change strike premium.     

An Examination of Cross‐Racial Comparability of Mother‐Child Interaction Among African American and Anglo American Families

This study examined the cross‐racial comparability of maternal quality of assistance and supportive presence coded from a video protocol using data from the Infant Health and Development Program for low‐birth‐weight, premature 30‐month‐olds and their mothers. Evidence of equivalence of measures is necessary before comparisons can be made across groups. Multiple‐group mean and covariance structures analysis was used to demonstrate the invariance of the measures and make comparisons for Anglo American and African American treatment and comparison groups of dyads. Comparisons across groups indicated similar variances and correlation between child and maternal behavior. Differences were found between the mean scores, with Anglo American treatment families scoring the highest.     

Partner Violence and Street Violence among Urban Adolescents: Do the Same Family Factors Relate?

Few studies have evaluated how participation in violence that occurs on the streets as part of criminal or delinquent behavior relates to violence that occurs as part of dating or marital relationships (partner violence). Using longitudinal data from 141 African American and Latino male youth (15–19 years old), the relation between family characteristics and participation in one or both types of violent behavior was evaluated. The youth in this study were more likely to report use of violence in relationships if they were also participating in violence as part of other criminal behavior. However, there were distinct groups of offenders. Among those males reporting involvement in a dating or romantic relationship, four groups were identified: (1) those who had not participated in either type of violence, 57%; (2) those who had participated in partner violence only, 14%; (3) those who had participated in street violence only, 12%; and (4) those who had participated in both, 17%. Discriminate function analyses significantly differentiated the group who had participated in both types of violence from the nonviolent group, with the former group having poorer functioning families. These two groups were also differentiated from the partner violence‐only and street violence‐only groups. No differences were found between the partner violence‐only and the street violence‐only groups. Implications for intervention and prevention are discussed.     

Perceiving the Real World: Infants' Detection of and Memory for Social Information

Research on infants' perception and memory for social information are discussed with respect to the concept of ecological validity. We argue that the use of dynamic, multimodal displays in familiar contexts is critical to understanding infants' developing perception. We also discuss the importance of generalizing appropriately from experimental to real‐world contexts and of using converging methods in the investigation of infants' capabilities.     

Patterns of entry to community‐based services for families with children with developmental disabilities: implications for social work practice

The purpose of the present study was to understand, from parents' perspectives, the process of entry to community‐based services for children with developmental disabilities and to explore the relationship between patterns of entry and parent‐reported needs and priorities for service. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 43 mothers and 29 fathers of children with developmental disabilities approximately 6 months after the families entered community‐based childhood disability support services in Manitoba, Canada. Analysis of the coded interview data resulted in the identification of three process factors influential in the entry of families to community‐based support services: recognition of problems in child development, formal diagnosis of child disability and linkage between diagnostic services and the community‐based support system. Analysis of these processes identified four patterns of service entry associated with differing family needs for service: early entry, prompt entry, delayed entry and atypical entry. The results can be understood as a typology useful for social workers in the assessment of family needs and priorities at the point of entry to community‐based services.     

Usability of Online Services: The Role of Technology Readiness and Context*

An important prerequisite for the success of any online service is ensuring that customers' experience—via the interface—satisfies both sensory and functional needs. Developing interfaces that are responsive to customers' needs requires a perspective on interface design as well as a deep understanding of the customers themselves. Drawing upon research in consumer behavior concerning consumer beliefs about technology, we deploy an alternative way to describe customers based on psychographic characteristics. Technology readiness (TR), a multidimensional psychographic construct, offers a way to segment online customers based upon underlying positive and negative technology beliefs. The core premise of this study is that the beliefs form the foundation for expectations of how things should work and how specific online service interfaces are evaluated by customers. At the same time, usability evaluations of specific online services might be contingent on contextual factors, specifically the type of site (hedonic vs. utilitarian) and access method (Web vs. wireless Web). The aspects of usability examined here are those incorporated into the usability metric and instrument based on the Microsoft Usability Guidelines (MUG). The results of an empirical study with 160 participants indicate that (i) TR customer segments vary in usability requirements and (ii) usability evaluations of specific online service interfaces are influenced by complex interactions among site type, access method, and TR segment membership. As organizations continue to expand their online service offerings, managers must recognize that the interface exists to serve the customers, so their design must be matched to market needs and TR.     

UNDERSTANDING THE EFFECTS OF GOVERNMENT SPENDING ON CONSUMPTION

Recent evidence suggests that consumption rises in response to an increase in government spending. That finding cannot be easily reconciled with existing optimizing business cycle models. We extend the standard new Keynesian model to allow for the presence of rule‐of‐thumb consumers. We show how the interaction of the latter with sticky prices and deficit financing can account for the existing evidence on the effects of government spending. (JEL: E32, E62)     

CORPORATE DOWNSIZING TO REBUILD TEAM SPIRIT: HOW COSTLY VOTING CAN FOSTER COOPERATION

We propose a new mechanism to achieve coordination through voting, for which we discuss a number of real‐life applications. Among them, the mechanism provides for a new theory for downsizing in organizations. A crisis may lead to a decrease in the willingness to cooperate in an organization, and therefore to a bad equilibrium. A consensual downsizing episode may signal credibly that survivors are willing to cooperate, and thus, it may be optimal and efficiency‐enhancing (for the individuals remaining in the organization), as the empirical evidence suggests. A variation of the same mechanism leads to “efficient” upsizing. (JEL: C70, D70, M50)     

ENTRY AND ASYMMETRIC LOBBYING: WHY GOVERNMENTS PICK LOSERS

Governments frequently intervene to support domestic industries, but a surprising amount of this support goes to ailing sectors. We explain this with a lobbying model that allows for entry and sunk costs. Specifically, policy is influenced by pressure groups that incur lobbying expenses to create rents. In expanding industries, entry tends to erode such rents, but in declining industries, sunk costs rule out entry as long as the rents are not too high. This asymmetric appropriability of rents means losers lobby harder. Thus it is not that government policy picks losers, it is that losers pick government policy. JEL: H32, P16.