Engineering education on production management. Different levels and degrees in five European countries: a comparison

The paper summarizes the results of the work-session ‘Education on Production Management’, organized during the Workshop and Summer School ‘Advanced Topics in Production Systems Design and Management’, held in Varenna (Lecco, Italy), from 1–4 June 1994. The organization of studies in the production management field in Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and Norway is outlined. A comparison between them shows a range of different solutions that must be understood to reach the goal of an effective exchange of production management people throughout the European Community.     

HAS ELECTRICITY REGULATION RESULTED IN HIGHER PRICES? AN ECONOMETRIC EVALUATION UTILIZING A CALIBRATED REGULATORY INPUT VARIABLE

The universalization of regulation has made it impossible to measure its effectiveness using traditional techniques. Researchers have used dummy variables, however, the spread of regulation has gradually eliminated the control group of unregulated firms needed for this technique. This explains why Stigler and Friedland (1962) concluded their study with 1937 data. The calibrated regulatory variable technique introduced here, on the other hand, can measure the effectiveness of regulation even when it is a universal condition. We find that electricity regulation raised prices during the period 1947–1966. A politically-motivated, naive policy designed to cross-subsidize residential users may have contributed to this failure.     

Perceptions des difficultés d'insertion en emploi et raisons de fin d'emploi: les cas du Québec et du Canada

This study presents the results of a comparison between perceptions related to the difficulties of integrating the labour market in Quebec and Canada, as measured in Statistics Canada and Employment and Immigration Canada's Labour Market Activity Survey (1986–1987), and the difficulties actually experienced, estimated by the objective reasons for quitting a job. It then presents a follow-up of the iteration of sub-groups who have perceived such integration difficulties. The core question consists in verifying the foundations of a widespread opinion according to which individuals are more and more responsible for their probability of being employed, mainly due to their lack of instruction or experience. This study shows that some sub-groups overestimate the weight of their individual responsibility in facing the probability of being employed, as opposed to the responsibility linked with the structural factors. As the follow-up of sub-groups' iteration also shows, the youth likely to enter the labour market, as well as the poorly and moderately schooled sub-groups, experience the most difficulties. Cette étude présente les résultats d'une comparaison entre les perceptions relatives aux difficultés d'insertion sur le marché du travail au Québec et au Canada, telles que mesurées dans l'Enquěte sur l'activité (1986–1987) de Statistique Canada et Emploi et Immigration Canada, et les difficultés réellement vécues, estimées par les raisons objectives de quitter un emploi. Il présente ensuite le suivi du cheminement des sous-cohortes qui ont perçu de telles difficultés d'insertion. La question centrale consiste à vérifier le bien-fondé d'un préjugé qui tend à s'imposer et qui veut que les individus sont de plus en plus responsables de leur inemployabilité en vertu de leur manque d'instruction ou d'expérience. Il ressort de cette étude que certaines sous-cohortes surestiment beaucoup le poids de leur responsabilité individuelle face à l'inemployabilité, par opposition à la responsabilité liée aux facteurs structurels. Quant au suivi des cheminements, ce sont surtout les jeunes qui entrent sur le marché du travail ainsi que les personnes faiblement et moyennement scolarisées qui éprouvent le plus de difficultés.     

New insights into the Far Eastern pattern of mortality

This paper investigates the consequences of using different economic status proxies on the estimated impact of economic status and other determinants of fertility. Using micro survey data from Ghana and Peru, we find that the proxies for income that best predict fertility are a principal components score of the ownership of consumer durable goods and a simple sum of ownership of these durable goods. Furthermore, the choice of the proxy generally has a minor influence on the predicted effects of the control variables. We compare the results from using a restricted set of proxies, such as those available in the Demographic and Health Surveys, with the results obtained using a lengthier set of proxies. Our results suggest implications beyond fertility analyses by providing researchers with an awareness of the sensitivity of microanalyses to the treatment of economic status. Our results also suggest practical recommendations for the collection of survey data.