Flows of People and Knowledge between Italy and Australia

This article analyses 20 years of bilateral peoples' flows between Italy and Australia using a unique set of data collected by Australia's Department of Immigration and Citizenship. This period has witnessed substantial changes in the composition of migration between the two countries. Against a historical background where migration is mostly composed of unskilled Italians relocating to Australia, the past two decades have seen a progressive increase in the arrival of young and highly skilled/qualified Italians on a short‐term basis. Conversely, there has been an increase in older Australians moving to or visiting Italy for work. Such changes have affected the bilateral skill flows, whose relevance has increased as globalization forces have made international transport easier and cheaper. Australia remains a “magnet” for Italians, and, unlike the historical origin of Italy's early immigrants, it now enjoys a net inflow of highly skilled labour.     

Business visits,knowledge diffusion and productivity

We investigate whether labor mobility can be a distinct source of growth by studying the productivity impact of business visits (BVs), vis-à-vis that of other well-known drivers of productivity enhancement. Our analysis uses an unbalanced panel—covering on average 16 sectors per year in ten countries during the period 1998–2011—which combines unique and novel data on BVs sourced from the US National Business Travel Association with Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) data on R&D and capital formation. We find that mobility through BVs is an effective mechanism to improve productivity, being about half that obtained by investing in R&D. This relevant finding invites viewing short-term mobility as a strategic mechanism and prospective policy tool to overcome productivity slowdowns and foster economic growth.     

A STUDY OF INTER-ETHNIC RELATIONSHIPS: THE GROWING ETHNIC COMPLEXITY IN THE JAPANESE CITY

Abstract  In examining the growing inter-ethnic complexity as an issue of social change in major Japanese cities since the mid-1980s, it is essential that in addition to learning from the experience of Western society.

• 1) 

  this discussion be carried out in the context of research on Korean residents in Japan, and
• 2) 

  the analysis include an examination of the inter-ethnic relationships.

These two essential points have largely been ignored in previous research on the internationalization of the Japanese city. This paper is based on field research from the Ikaino district of Osaka city, which is the largest non-Japanese "ethnic" community in Japan. The research reveals hitherto neglected aspects of contemporary urban internationalization by examining the Korean community from the point of view of the relationship between the Korean and Japanese communities. We find that:

• 1) 

  A Japanese community exists within Ikaino (widely known as "Korea town").
• 2) 

  The Korean and Japanese communities live side by side but emphasize their separate identities.
• 3) 

  The only condition which offers hope for cooperation between the two groups is a common feeling of loss and deprivation.

Arguments for and against the employment of unskilled foreign laborers continue to be heard. It is the task of the sociologist to provide an objective, unbiased analysis and to accumulate relevant data, rather than to attempt a quick resolution by supporting one side or the other.     

Ageing,Health, Loneliness and Wellbeing

Social Indicators Research - Older people experience high rates of depression and suicide, yet they make a positive net contribution to the economy through activities such as employment,...     

A Cross-Cultural Exploration of the Stability of Children's Friendships and the Predictors of their Continuation

The purpose of this study was to explore cultural differences in children's perceptions of friendship quality and in the predictors of the subsequent continuation of their relationships. Participants were third and fourth-grade children in Florence, Italy, and Toronto, Canada. A total of 184 dyads of children who indicated that they were friends near the beginning of the school year completed questionnaires regarding the quality of their relationships. Among the Italian children, especially the girls, a higher proportion of friendships remained intact at the end of the school year than among the Canadians. Positive aspects of relationship quality at the first data collection point were associated with future friendship status, but earlier conflict within the dyad was unrelated to the continuation of friendship. The levels of conflict reported by the children were lower in the Italian sample than in Canada.     

Short-Term Skilled Labour Movements and Economic Growth

Economic models typically study the long-term effects of migration, and hence emphasise their impact on a country's endowment of skills using net migration rates. This approach however does not take into account the contribution of short-term movements of skilled labour on a country's stock of knowledge and ability to innovate. This paper develops a theoretical approach to extend the analysis to gross migration flows, which captures the volume of interactions and the potential for knowledge exchanges between a country's skilled labour and workers living elsewhere. One implication of the approach developed is that higher growth can be achieved through higher international labour mobility, even if there is no net migration. Countries that find it difficult or impossible to attract skilled labour on a permanent basis may therefore enjoy the growth effect brought by skilled temporary migrants.     

Marketing Archetypes: Applying Jungian Psychology to Marketing Research

In the current situation of growing information overload, individuals are gradually becoming less sensitive to traditional marketing communications. For this reason, traditional marketing research models are no longer capable of giving useful insights to management. This calls for new approaches that can grasp the inner meaning of consumer behaviors and evaluate their relevance. To this end, a new multidisciplinary approach is needed to interpret complex behavioral patterns so as to gain deeper and more effective insights into customers and to understand their behavioral patterns. In this paper, following a short introduction to the basic concepts of Jung's analytical psychology and their relevance for marketing, we propose the use of the Jungian archetypes to implement a market research model, considering the case of an Italian research company's development of the Archetipus® model.     

Do Foreigners Cushion Native Jobs? The Case of European Regions in the 1990s

Abstract. This paper investigates whether foreigners cushion native labour during the phases of the economic cycle. The theoretical model, based on the work of Blanchard and Katz (Brookings Papers on Economic Activity 0(1): 1–75, 1992), assumes that foreigners supply labour with a higher wage elasticity than natives. The empirical analysis, based on an unbalanced panel of 161 European regions during 1988–97, shows that following a labour demand shock the variability of native employment growth is lower the higher the proportion of foreign citizens in the local labour force. These results suggest that foreigners absorb some of the effects of the shock, shielding natives from its full impact. The analysis also reveals that the main channel mediating this ‘cushioning’ effect is the inter‐regional migration of foreign workers, followed (as a far distant second) by their higher/lower unemployment rates.