SUBJECTIVE ELEMENTS IN RAWLSIAN CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENT ON DISTRIBUTIONAL RULES

Rawls (1971) argued that individuals choosing institutions from behind the veil of ignorance would unanimously agree on institutions that maximized the imputations of the least advantaged persons in the post-choice social outcome. Critics have argued that the Rawlsian contract requires risk averse individuals. Our paper focuses on the contractual element inherent in constitutional choice when individuals have differing subjective estimates of the working properties of different institutions. We show that in genuinely Rawlsian contractual settings there may exist a general bias toward the selection of institutions that embody maximin solutions without the assumption of risk aversion.     

THE SUPPLY OF OCCUPATIONAL REGULATION

This paper examines the state's decision to supply monopoly rights to occupations. The two key aspects of the analysis are the degree of political competition and the proportion of market demand of the regulated service accounted for by government officials. An application of the analysis is developed to explain an episode of comparative occupational regulation in mercantile England and France. Other applications of the analysis are suggested.     

Mode Effects in Self-Reported Mental Health Data

This article analyzes the impact of audio computer-assistedself-interviewing (ACASI) administration on the reporting ofmental health syndromes in a general population survey. Estimatesof four mental health syndromes (major depressive episode, generalizedanxiety disorder, panic attack, and agoraphobia) obtained froman interviewer-administered, paper-and-pencil (I-PAPI) mentalhealth module were compared with those obtained from an ACASIversion of the same module implemented in a separate field test.The mental health questions consisted of four scales from theWorld Health Organization's Composite International DiagnosticInterview Short-Form. Comparisons of ACASI and I-PAPI estimatesfor each mental health syndrome were made overall and withinage, race/ethnicity, gender, educational level, geographic region,and population density subgroups. To assess the likelihood ofreporting a mental health syndrome using ACASI versus I-PAPI,logistic regression models were utilized controlling for possibleconfounding and interaction variables. The results suggest thatadult respondents reported more mental health symptoms wheninterviewed with ACASI than when interviewed with I-PAPI, andthe results support the use of ACASI in general population surveysof mental health.     

A PARADOX IN THE THEORY OF SECOND BEST

This paper first develops a political model rationalizing conventional second-best constraints on the controllability of certain sectors despite the perfect governmental information assumptions underlying conventional second-best policy intervention. It then shows that such intervention implies a logical paradox (i. e. an inconsistency with the underlying political model) that can be removed only by making sufficient additional sectors uncontrollable that classical optimality conditions apply to the remaining, controllable sectors. Classical, piecemeal policy criteria therefore hold even under the extreme informational perfections underlying conventional second-best theory. A brief application of the general model helps us understand and evaluate recent U. S. energy policy.     

Occupational Stress in Social Work

Correspondence to Faith Gibson, Senior Lecturer in Social Work, University of Ulster at Magee College, Londonderry, Co. Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Summary This article reports the results of a study of occupationalstress undertaken with a large sample of Northern Ireland fieldsocial workers, including both main grade practitioners andfirst line senior social work managers employed as team leaders.This study formed part of a wider interprofessional study ofsocial workers, nurses and teachers; publications for the lattertwo professions along with interprofessional comparisons arein preparation and this present article focuses on the socialworker cohort. The design and methods are described and demographic characteristicsof the social work sample are provided, with their views aboutsocial work. Stressors are identified in both professional andprivate lives. The effects of stress as manifested through theGeneral Health Questionnaire and the Maslach Burnout Inventoryare examined and the social workers' views on various stresscoping strategies are discussed.     

Social upgrading and cooperative corporate social responsibility in global value chains: the case of Fairphone in China

In this article, we explore how a lead firm's strategy for corporate social responsibility influences the social upgrading of a supplier in a global value chain. Based on a single case study approach, we investigate the interaction between Dutch smartphone producer Fairphone and its Chinese supplier Guohong. On the one hand, the case illustrates how a cooperative approach to corporate social responsibility can lead to progress in suppliers' social upgrading. In particular, we highlight the role of a so‐called workers' welfare fund as a mechanism not only for improving measurable labour standards but also for enabling rights. On the other hand, the case demonstrates how the limited production and technological capabilities of the suppliers, a competitive market environment and lead firms' limited strategic access to the supply chain might constrain the extent of social upgrading through a cooperative approach towards corporate social responsibility in a global value chain.