Les pactes de non-concurrence après l'emploi aux Etats-Unis: cadre juridique et comportements sur le marché

En réponse aux changements fondamentaux du marché qui donnent au travail un rǒle beaucoup plus central sur le marché concurrentiel des produits, les employeurs cherchent souvent à prolonger leur contrǒle sur le capital humain au‐delà de la fin de la relation d'emploi. Bien que les études empiriques sur le sujet soient rares, le recours aux pactes de non‐concurrence après l'emploi semble répandu. Mais jusqu'où les employeurs peuvent‐ils légalement restreindre la liberté de leurs anciens salariés? L'auteur examine les arguments que les tribunaux ont considérés aux Etats‐Unis pour équilibrer les intérěts économiques légitimes des employeurs, l'efficacité du marché du travail, et la liberté et la mobilité des travailleurs après leur emploi.     

The two-sample -test with a known ratio of variances

We consider the two-sample t-test where error variances are unknown but with known relationships between them. This situation arises, for example, when two measuring instruments average different number of replicates to report the response. In particular we compare our procedure with the usual Satterthwaite approximation in the two sample t-test with variances unequal. Our procedure uses the knowledge of a known ratio of variances while the Satterthwaite approximation assumes only that the two variances are unequal. Simulations show that our procedure has both better size and better power than the Satterthwaite approximation. Finally, we consider an extension of our results to the General Linear Model.     

Has the redistributive effect of social transfers and taxes changed over time across countries?

In most Member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation Development (OECD), the income gap between rich and poor has widened over the past decades. This article analyses whether and to what extent income taxes and social transfers have contributed to this trend. Has the redistributive impact of different social programmes changed over time? We use microdata from the LIS Cross National Data Center in Luxembourg for the period 1982–2014 and study both the total population and the working‐age population. In contrast to the results of some other studies, especially by the OECD, we do not find that redistribution has declined. Tax‐benefit systems around 2013 are more effective at reducing income inequality compared to the mid‐1980s and the mid‐1990s, especially among the total population. Changes in social programmes are not a driver of greater income inequality across the countries included in this study.     

Modeling agricultural risk management policies – The implementation of the Income Stabilization Tool in Italy

This paper investigates the potential impact of the income stabilisation tool (IST), currently introduced in the European Common Agricultural Policy to reduce farmers’ income risks using Italian agriculture as case study. The paper extends the existing literature by investigating the effects of two implementation issues: level of aggregation of mutual funds (MF); definition of farmers’ contribution (i.e. premium) to MF. We use a simulation approach based on a FADN panel data set of 3421 farms over a period of 7 years to investigate effects on (i) farm-level income variability, (ii) the expected level and variability of indemnifications at the level of mutual funds and (iii) the distribution of net benefits from this policy instrument across the farm population. We find that the introduction of the IST would lead to a significant reduction of income variability in Italian agriculture. Our results support the establishment of a national mutual fund due to the high volatility of indemnification levels at more disaggregated (e.g. regional or sectoral) levels. In addition, our results propose that farmers’ contribution to mutual funds, i.e. premiums paid, should be modulated according to farm size as this reduces the inequality of the distribution of benefits of such tool within the farm population.     

Client and program factors associated with dropout from court mandated drug treatment

To examine why court mandated offenders dropout of drug treatment and to compare their characteristics, treatment experiences, perceptions, and outcomes with treatment completers, we analyzed self-reported and administrative data on 542 dropouts (59%) and 384 completers (41%) assessed for Proposition 36 treatment by thirty sites in five California counties during 2004. At intake, dropouts had lengthier criminal histories, lower treatment motivation, more severe employment and psychiatric problems, and more were using drugs, especially heroin. Relatively fewer dropouts received residential treatment and their retention was much shorter. A similar proportion of dropouts received services as completers and the mean number of services received per day by dropouts was generally more, especially to address psychiatric problems, during the first three months of treatment. The most commonly offender-reported reasons for dropout included low treatment motivation (46.2%) and the difficulty of the Proposition 36 program (20.0%). Consequences for dropout included incarceration (25.3%) and permission to try treatment again (24.0%). Several factors predicting drug treatment dropout were identified. Both groups demonstrated improved functioning at one-year follow-up, but fewer dropouts had a successful outcome (34.5% vs. 59.1%) and their recidivism rate was significantly higher (62.9% vs. 28.9%) even after controlling for baseline differences. Understanding factors associated with drug treatment dropout can aid efforts to improve completion rates, outcomes, and overall effectiveness of California's Proposition 36 program. Findings may also aid a broader audience of researchers and policy analysts who are charged with designing and evaluating criminal-justice diversion programs for treating drug-addicted offenders.     

高校商务英语专业八级测试体系开发方案

截至2011年,全国共有32所高校经由教育部批准设置了商务英语本科专业。商务英语专业作为全新的人才培养模式,已经招收了四年本科生。《高等学校商务英语专业教学要求》对商务英语专业的测试与评价都提出了具体的要求。以本科商务英语专业教学指导和大纲内容为中心,以英语专业考试为蓝本,以社会对于商务英语专业学生的能力要求为参照,就商务英语专业八级测试体系的开发进行了初步探讨,以此为大规模推行商务英语专业八级考试提供一定的借鉴。     

真理符合论的历史与理论

“符合论”本质上属于一种用经验知觉的观点来看待真理的哲学。亚里士多德对柏拉图“共相论”的反驳 ,在哲学上确立了真理符合论最初的经验基础 ;近代经验论对主体的强调 ,把“符合论”的基础从客体的方面转向主体的方面 ,从而使之具有了浓重的不可知论意味 ;现代语言哲学继承了经验论哲学重视主体经验的传统 ,通过把经验对象界定为事实 ,成功地发展出一种可以在纯逻辑的层面上表达的真理符合论。由于语言哲学家把语言看作是一个独立于现实的特殊领域而加以绝对化的发挥 ,符合论也越来越远离经验论的原初立场 ,在深层上表现出返回康德先验唯心主义的特点     

Optimal block designs for three treatments when observations are correlated

E$E$-optimal designs for comparing three treatments in blocks of size three are identified, where intrablock observations are correlated according to a first order autoregressive error process with parameter ρ∈(0,1)$\rho \in (0,1)$. For number of blocks b   of the form b=3n+1$b=3n+1$, there are two distinct optimal designs depending on the value of ρ$\rho$, with the best design being unequally replicated for large ρ$\rho$. For other values of b$b$, binary, equireplicate designs with specified within-block assignment patterns are best. In many cases, the stronger majorization optimality is established.     

论自治条例和单行条例的法律地位问题

制定自治条例和单行条例 (自治法规 )是民族区域自治地方自治机关的一项自治权。自治法规的效力等级高于一般地方性法规而具有法律性质 ,但其适用范围仅限于本民族区域自治地方。上级国家机关要尊重和保障民族区域自治地方自治机关的自治权 ,但自治法规不能规定和约束上级国家机关。制定机关和批准机关对于自治法规都享有“半个立法权”的说法 ,实际上是把报请批准自治法规视同提请审议自治法规案 ,把自治机关享有的自治法规制定权等同为拟定权。自治州、自治县的自治法规报请省级人大常委会批准后生效的规定 ,是一项宪法原则 ,这是我国民族区域自治地方立法体制的一大特点。在自治法规的效力等级和适用范围问题上的分歧 ,源于如何正确认识民族区域自治制度     

On the role of families and kinship networks in pre-industrial agricultural societies: An analysis of the 1698 Slavonian census

This paper uses the 1698 Slavonian census to illuminate features of social organization and productive activity of an eastern European population under the New Feudalism of the 17th century. In particular we investigate the ability of community or kinship networks to provide substitutes for missing markets in securities and production factors. It is found that kinship networks increase the efficiency of agricultural production by facilitating the exchange of oxen. This confirms contemporary reports that draft animals were the critical constraint to the expansion of agricultural output. We also find that kinship networks fail to reduce the variability of output through mutual harvest insurance. Received: 03 November 1998/Accepted: 16 June 1999