PPOs: the employer perspective

This paper reports the results of a national survey on employer experiences with preferred provider organizations (PPOs). The survey, conducted in 1987, included information from almost 700 telephone interviews with employee benefit managers. We found that 11 percent of employees are in PPOs. PPOs now have a strong presence among employers of all sizes. However, whereas they are a major force in the West, where almost one-third of employees are members, they have garnered only a 1 percent market share in the East. We examine the impact of PPOs on health insurance premiums and on employer satisfaction. The results show that in 1987, the year of the survey, PPOs appeared to provide mild cost savings compared to conventional insurance, and that employers were very satisfied with almost all aspects of PPOs, whereas they were surprisingly critical of their HMOs.     

Examining exclusionary conduct of HMOs and PPOs: a case comment on Northwest Medical Laboratories v. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oregon.

As the climate of the health care industry has changed to one of cost-containment and competition through the growth of HMOs and PPOs, health care providers have become the subjects of antitrust litigation. One such case, Northwest Medical Laboratories v. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oregon, involved a medical laboratory and a radiology center who claimed that they were victims of an illegal group boycott after defendant's pre-paid health plan denied them preferred provider status. The Oregon Court of Appeals, using the traditional antitrust analysis applied to other industries for decades, failed to consider the intricacies that exist within the health care industry. This result led to an inaccurate market share computation and an inadequate rule of reason analysis. This Comment examines the shortcomings of the Northwest Medical opinion and argues that, in applying the antitrust laws to the health care industry, courts in future cases must recognize and respect the unique features of the business of providing health care.     

Preferred provider organization liability for physician malpractice

The preferred provider organization (PPO) is a recent innovation in the health care industry, designed to reduce costs through selective contracting and utilization controls. This Note examines malpractice liability theories potentially applicable to PPOs. The Note compares PPOs to other health care institutions, including hospitals and HMOs, and concludes that PPOs are at minimal risk of incurring liability for physician negligence.     

Probation/Parole Officer Psychological Well-Being: the Impact of Supervising Persons with Mental Health Needs

Although supervising persons with mental illness can pose special challenges for community parole/probation officers (PPOs), few studies have investigated whether the number of supervisees on an officer’s caseload increases risk for poor mental health for PPOs and whether this link is due to emotional exhaustion. Using statewide survey data from 798 PPOs, we examine whether the number of supervisees on an officer’s caseload with mental health problems is associated with depressive symptoms reported the PPOs and whether this relationship is mediated by emotional exhaustion. In addition, we evaluate the potential mitigating role of both mental health services received by supervisees and officer training in mental health in the relationship between the number of supervisees on an officer’s caseload with mental health problems and emotional exhaustion experienced by PPOs. Findings reveal that PPOs with more supervisees on their caseload report significantly higher levels of depressive symptoms and that this relationship is completely explained away by emotional exhaustion. Neither mental health services received by supervisees nor officer training in mental health mitigated the link between the number of supervisees on an officer’s caseload with mental health problems and officer emotional exhaustion. This study underscores the importance of the psychological well-being of those on parole/probation for the emotional and mental health of the officers who supervise them.     

绿色经济在中国的启蒙与复兴

绿色经济的概念为突破可持续发展机制面临的这个瓶颈在理念和方法上提供了一个新的机遇和选择,为可持续发展注入了新的活力。绿色经济体现了生态文明的理念,追求经济发展与环境保护的共赢与和谐。绿色经济的概念在当今经济全球化背景下尤其珍贵,有利于克服经济高度商品化带来的环境问题深化和危机,实现全球经济的可持续发展;绿色经济对中国等经济高速发展国家尤其重要。在中国经历了举步维艰的绿色经济目前正在获得新的发展契机。     

Does a Rising Tide Lift All Boats? Labor Market Changes and Their Effects on the Recidivism of Released Prisoners

The dramatic growth in incarceration nationally has increased attention to the factors that influence recidivism among ex-prisoners. Accordingly, scholars have called for research that identifies factors, such as employment opportunities, that may influence reentry experiences. Few studies, however, have examined how changes in labor market conditions affect ex-prisoner offending. Drawing on prior scholarship, this study examines the effect of such changes on the recidivism of ex-prisoners and, in particular, how the recidivism among blacks and whites may be differentially affected by changes in labor market conditions in the areas to which they return. The analyses indicate that, among black male ex-prisoners, labor market declines increase violent recidivism. They also indicate that, among white male ex-prisoners, the effects are more tenuous, influence only property recidivism, and are moderated by prior labor market conditions and criminal history. Implications of the study are discussed.     

Organizational climate,work stress,and depressive symptoms among probation and parole officers

While work environment and stress are important factors for mental health, no studies have assessed whether these factors contribute independently to the psychological well-being of probation and parole officers (PPOs). Using statewide survey data from 825 PPOs, we examine the association between depressive symptoms, work stress, and work environment (using the organizational climate measures of role ambiguity, role conflict, role overload and emotional exhaustion/burnout). Findings indicate that organizational climate and work stress are important predictors of emotional exhaustion/burnout, and that these factors have both indirect and independent associations with depressive symptomotology. Together, models including organizational climate and work stress account for two-thirds of the variability in burnout. Moreover, models incorporating exhaustion/burnout, work stress, and organizational climate account for nearly half of the variability in depressive symptoms. Organization climate measures and work stress contribute to depressive symptoms through their effect on emotional exhaustion/burnout. In addition, emotional exhaustion/burnout, role conflict, and work stress are all directly linked to levels of depressive symptoms. This study demonstrates that organizational climate and work stress contribute substantially to the well-being of PPOs and reveals the potential mental health consequences of working in community corrections.     

European Regional Policy and Backward Regions: Implications Towards EU Enlargement

In this paper we show that the success of the EU Regional Policy, in terms of boosting growth in objective 1 regions, will mean a big opportunity for Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) and hence the increases in competition arising from an enlarged European market combined with a suitable regional development policy should in the future boost the growth of those countries. In the last part of the paper we made a simulation for the funding envelope from 2007, based on the 2000–2006 budget. We show that the figures of the Agenda 2000 provide enough financial support for 90% of the total CEEC population and for 75% of current objective 1 population.     

网络经济中相关市场的界定

在网络经济条件下,相关市场的界定要全面考虑产品、地域和时间三个维度。网络效应使得市场对价格的敏感度降低,导致传统SSNIP测试法失效,而应用产品性能测试法和盈利模式测试法能更有效地界定相关产品市场。双边市场特征要求把网络平台两端的市场视为一个整体进行相关市场的测度。网络的普遍存在和全球可达性使得相关地域市场极为广阔,但也因网络接入和网络内容服务的不同性质使其呈现出相异的边界。时间成为网络经济中需要普遍考虑的维度,坚持长远发展原则和可预期范围内原则,结合网络产品的生命周期和知识产权保护期限,最终对相关时间市场的范围作出合理的界定。     

Competition versus regulation: some empirical evidence

In response to dramatic rises in health care costs, policymakers have been debating the relative merits of regulatory and competitive strategies as a means of containing costs. One major activity espoused by proponents of competition is the growth of health maintenance organizations (HMOs) which, in their opinion, will result in the market better determining efficient levels of utilization and costs. Extending this argument, the larger the percent of the population in a market area who enroll in HMOs, the greater the market-forcing effect of HMOs in reducing overall hospital expenditures; that is, if HMOs are providing lower-cost care, then the fee-for-service system will be forced to reduce costs in order to be competitive. The authors studied the 25 largest SMSAs from 1971-1981, and controlling for environmental conditions in each market, they examined the impact of both HMO growth and regulatory activity on costs and utilization. They conclude that neither competition nor regulation had a significant impact in reducing overall hospital costs. While there may have been some impact in specific communities, no generalizable effect could be observed. However, the authors did find that increases in costs and utilization were essentially driven by supply factors such as the number of hospital beds or medical specialists in a given community.     

Examining Space–Time Interaction in City-Level Homicide Data: Crack Markets and the Diffusion of Guns Among Youth

This paper examines the linkage between crack market activity and gunhomicide suggested by Blumstein (1995), who argues that the arrival ofcrack stimulated an increased availability of guns among juveniles. Thisgreater availability of guns, the argument continues, is responsible for thesharp upswing in juvenile homicide experienced in the United States in themid-1980s. Using city-level data on crack arrests and gun-related juvenilehomicide, we fit a change-point version of the Bass (1969) model ofinnovation diffusion. We find that, in most large American cities, thediffusion process for crack cocaine experienced an onset of dramatic growththat was followed by a similar, slightly slower growth in gun homicidescommitted by juveniles. We further use cluster analysis to find that thespatial patterning of the two processes is similar, starting on the East andWest Coasts and working their way toward other regions of the nation. Gunuse in homicide among slightly older offenders (ages 18–24) alsoexperienced a change at roughly the same time as the juveniles, but the rateof diffusion was considerably milder than for the younger group; offendersages 25 or older generally show no growth in gun-related homicide whatsoever. In addition, there is no detectable surge in juvenile nongun homicide activity. Based on these findings, we conclude that the crack cocaine markets–gun availability linkage is highly plausible, and we suggest directions for future research in clarifying the dynamics of the late-1980s surge in juvenile homicide.     

Loose cannons: Covert commerce and underground finance in the modern arms black market

The 1990s have already witnessed an explosion of social and political violence, with the threat of much more on the way. Many explanations have been offered — the stripping of the constraints formerly imposed by the Cold War alliance system; the delegitimization of states and the resurgence of ethno-religious identification; the end of the post-War social consensus that promised (though often did not deliver) a modicum of distributive justice.The paper stresses another, more mundane explanation — namely, the triumph over efforts at control of a free market in the instruments for effecting social and political change by violent means. It explains the contradiction between the amount of human, social and political damage weapons do and the ease with which they are acquired by exploring structural changes in the world arms black market since the 1980s.First, it argues that existing data showing a sharp decrease in international arms transfers can be reinterpreted in a much more pessimistic way, in part because of the operation of the modern black market.Second, a definition is offered of a black market transaction, differentiating it from otherwise legitimate deals that are criminalized on either the supply or demand sides.Third, it notes dramatic changes in the nature of the demand for weapons that drives more buyers into the black market.Fourth, it examines changes on the supply side that have made it so easy for a black market participant to acquire weapons, whether for direct end-use or for resale.Fifth, broad structural changes in the machinery of black marketeering in general, and their applications to the arms market in particular, are outlined.Sixth, a profile of the modern, as distinct from the traditional, gun running profession is offered, stressing the ambiguous role of the intelligence services in the traffic.Seventh, a black market arms deal is traced in its various stages through the machinery of covert commerce, while exploring at each stage the implications for pricing.Eight, the return flow of money is analyzed, from the point of view both of the form in which payment is made and the role of the formal banking system in handling and laundering the flow.Ninth, the financial problems facing non-state buyers and the consequent role of unconventional currencies is examined.Finally, some observations are offered about the implications of recent developments in the arms market for issues of arms control and international security.     

反垄断法中交易不成损害的可赔偿性

交易不成损害应被视为垄断民事损害的典型表现之一,对该种损害提供赔偿救济,符合法律原则和损害赔偿法理论。但在各国司法实践中,是否判决赔偿和如何计算赔偿金额,却缺乏定论与共识。建立以"转换成本"为核心的判定标准,可简化交易不成损害可赔偿性的判断与计算过程,增强此类损害赔偿诉讼裁判的稳定性与连续性。我国未来出台的反垄断民事诉讼司法解释文件,宜对交易不成损害的可赔偿性及赔偿金额的计算方法作出规定。     

加入WTO后我国证券犯罪面临的刑法调整和应对

我国加入ＷＴＯ后，不仅仅会在经济与贸易规则方面发生很多变化，同时也会波及到方方面面。意味着我国将通过立法和司法履行自己的承诺。随着外国证券机构进入我国证券市场，证券行业将会产生许多新问题，出现一些新型的证券犯罪，这就需要我们尽早研究对策，使得我国证券市场在入世后有健康、稳定的发展。     

农村集体土地征收中被征收入的权利缺损及其补全——从以集体所有权为中心到以农民用益物权为中心

农民集体土地所有权由于缺乏一级市场上的价值发现机制,同时公益性征收中土地改变用途未必能产生地价增值,导致农村集体土地征收中被征收入权利缺损难以通过以集体所有权为中心的补偿制度来弥补。新农村建设中农民土地承包经营权等用益物权不仅是未来农民个体生存权与发展权获得实现的主要法律形式,农民用益物权流通市场的发展也使之更充分的被市场发现价值,从而针对农民用益物权的专门补偿适合成为弥补农村集体土地公益性征收中被征收入权利缺损的新的制度中心。     

Assessing the Effectiveness of Correctional Sanctions

Objectives

Despite the dramatic expansion of the US correctional system in recent decades, little is known about the relative effectiveness of commonly used sanctions on recidivism. The goal of this paper is to address this research gap, and systematically examine the relative impacts on recidivism of four main types of sanctions: probation, intensive probation, jail, and prison.

Methods

Data on convicted felons in Florida were analyzed and propensity score matching analyses were used to estimate relative effects of each sanction type on 3-year reconviction rates.

Results

Estimated effects suggest that less severe sanctions are more likely to reduce recidivism.

Conclusions

The findings raise questions about the effectiveness of tougher sanctioning policies for reducing future criminal behavior. Implications for future research, theory, and policy are also discussed.     

关于我国反垄断立法相关问题的研究与探讨

我国在加入WTO的环境下,形成了新的市场经济环境。而我国反垄断法的立法始终处于缺位,在新的经济环境的压力下,我国制定《反垄断法》是十分必要的。反垄断法是现代国家调节社会经济的基本法律之一,是经济法体系一个重要组成部分,并将长期居于经济法体系的核心地位。我国实行社会主义市场经济,不能不制定这种法律。对于市场经济来讲,反垄断法的积极作用是空前的。     

Practice and Privilege: Social Change and the Structure of Large Law Firms

Despite dramatic changes in size and specialization, large law firms have remained remarkably unchanged in other respects. Introducing research on major Chicago law firms, this article examines how large law firms have changed so much by changing so little. It proposes a theory of law firm growth emphasizing the relationship between changes in the market for sophisticated legal services and changes in the approach law firms have taken to organizing their practices. The author discusses the organizational structure of large law firms, giving particular attention to the various roles that lawyers play in such firms. After speculating on trends affecting large law firms, he points to implications of these trends for law and social change.     

The Outpost Office: How International Law Firms Approach the China Market

How are international law firms faring in China? Drawing on 2013 data, this article presents the first comprehensive overview of the field, including information about the global mix of players and variation in market niche. Three variables—years present in China, global strategy, and level of localization—help explain why some China practices grow bigger than others. Overall, however, there is a great deal of convergence on one business model: an outpost office with a median size of eleven lawyers responsible for under 5 percent of worldwide revenue. The common experience of stagnation following market entry illustrates the strength of hype, the constraints of partnership, and the persistent power of the Chinese state to shape the legal services market. At the same time, the rarity of market exit reflects perceptions that a China presence is a valuable symbol of global commitment and a worthwhile bet on future growth.     

Operator service access and pay telephone compensation rules--FCC. Final rule

In its Memorandum Opinion and Order on Reconsideration, the Commission affirms certain aspects of the Second Report and Order and makes a number of modifications. First, the Commission affirms its holding that interexchange carriers (IXCs) must pay competitive payphone owners (PPOs) compensation in the amount of $6 per month per payphone. Second, the Commission modifies the Second Report and Order to allow IXCs to avoid the obligation to pay compensation if they do not receive access code calls from payphones to which they are not presubscribed. Third, the Commission affirms its decision to use to toll revenue standard for apportioning compensation among those IXCs required to pay. Fourth, the Commission clarifies in a number of respects its requirements pertaining to the customer-owned coin-operated telephone (COCOT) lists provided by local exchange carriers (LECs) to IXCs. In addition, the Commission denies Allnet's Application for Review of a decision by the Common Carrier Bureau relating to the list of IXCs required to pay compensation. The Commission's Memorandum Report and Order on Reconsideration ensures that PPOs receive fair compensation for the service they provide in originating interstate access code calls from their payphones.