Public and private sector wages interactions in a general equilibrium model

It is common wisdom that public sector wages are not determined in the same way as private sector wages. At the same time, the empirical evidence available for OECD countries finds a strong positive correlation between public and private sector wages. In this paper, we develop a model that is consistent with a political economy view of the determination of public sector wages and employment, while being consistent with the said empirical evidence. Public finance constraints are crucial: In booms, governments expand employment and wages, while in downturns, lack of tax revenues forces the government to cut back the wage bill.     

Cuba's “Equity Without Growth” Dilemma and the 2011 Lineamientos

Cuba faces a development dilemma: it promotes equity and human capital while failing to deliver economic growth. For the government, the country's equity and human capital achievements are a source of pride, a sign that its priorities are right. This essay argues instead that this “equity without growth” dilemma is a sign of malaise. Theory and evidence suggest that high levels of equity and human capital should produce high levels of economic growth. Because growth is often weak or negative, some onerous barriers to development must be present. These barriers, it is argued, are restrictions on property and political rights. By comparing Cuba and China across two sectors, the bicycle industry and Internet access, this article shows how these restrictions have hindered growth. It also assesses how Cuba's latest economic reforms, the so‐called Lineamientos, will address Cuba's development dilemma. The impact may be minimal, but perhaps more lasting than previous reforms.     

A theoretical approach to market definition analysis

This work performs a theoretical approach to market definition analysis. The conditions a test must satisfy are selected in order to define the relevant market according to the jurisdictions of the United States and the European Union as most tests proposed by economists tend not to satisfy all the required conditions. I use two models of horizontal product differentiation to illustrate the nature of the tests that can be used under each jurisdiction. The main conclusion of the paper is that the empirical tests for market definition which are valid in the current legislations in the United States and the European Union must be performed using a different approach which may yield different relevant markets.     

Regimes of Cooperation in the Western Hemisphere: Power, Interests, and Intellectual Traditions

The 1994 Summit of the Americas marked a high point in hemispherism—our label for the active attempt by the nations of the Western Hemisphere to form regimes of cooperation with one another. To explain why hemispherism has not been a more powerful trend in the last 200 years, structural, interest, and cultural variables are relevant but insufficient factors. An important and often overlooked obstacle to hemispherism has beencontrarian ideas. Specifically, constellations of intellectual traditions that question the value of hemispheric cooperation have dampened both the demand for and supply of such regimes. Only when these antihemispheric intellectual traditions were in retreat—the late nineteenth century, the mid twentieth century, and the early 1990s—has hemispherism flourished. We posit three mechanisms through which intellectual traditions can decline, thus generating amodified cognitivist argument that can supplement power-based and interest-based explanations of regime formation and robustness.     

Human Rights and Tear Gas: The Question of Carter Administration Officials Opposed to the Shah

Jimmy Carter’s arrival to the White House and Washington’s new focus on human rights caused an early, although subtle, rift between the United States and the Shah’s Iran. The aim of this paper is to explore how the Bureau of Human Rights’ activist approach, under the leadership of the outspoken Patricia Derian, muddied the waters between Tehran and Washington, while using the export of riot control equipment as the spearhead of Carter’s human rights policy abroad.     

Regional Corporate Spawning and the Role of Homegrown Companies

This paper presents the results and policy implications of a study that examined the spawning of founders who had previously been employed at large corporations. We found that spawning of founders is positively associated with the parent companies' productivity, innovativeness, and headquarter location. Furthermore, we found that the spin‐off per employee rate is higher in smaller establishments. We also found that the local entrepreneurial culture is significant in explaining local spawning of founders. Finally, we present new empirical evidence on the crucial role of successful homegrown companies in regional cluster development. More specifically, we found that the existence of successful homegrown companies is significantly correlated with the level of the regional entrepreneurial activity. This finding is consistent with the finding of many cluster development case studies. Thus, we argue that successful homegrown companies have a unique role in cluster development. This role can seldom be replaced by nonhomegrown companies. This is related to the notion that prior to the development of an entrepreneurial cluster, some intangible precondition should be realized such as the appearance of local role models and a shift toward a more entrepreneurial culture. In a more general perspective, these results support the notion that knowledge‐based regional development is a complex process that requires a long‐term and continuously adjusting supporting policy rather than being based mainly on attracting established companies' R&D centers to the region.     

A Veteran Hotelier

Thirty five years ago,Javier Albar was askedby his father, a hotelier at Hilton Madrid: "Would you like to go to a hotelschool in Switzerland?"The boy, who had a stronginterest in art and     

An Analysis of the Characteristics of Thoracic and Abdominal Injuries Due to Gunshot Homicides in Israel

De‐identified wound data from 197 homicidal gunshot postmortems were obtained between 2000 and 2008. Forensic ballistics data were only available for cases between 2004 and 2008. Males represent 91% of gunshot victims and were struck in the thorax/abdomen with an average of 2.3 bullets. The type of firearms involved were semi‐automatic pistols in the predominant caliber 9‐mm Luger and assault rifles in caliber 5.56 × 45 mm and caliber 7.62 × 39 mm Soviet, using full metal jacket bullets. The majority of shootings occurred at ranges of 1 m or greater. The most common bullet path was front to back in 66% of cases. Entry wounds occurred more often on the left side of the thorax, abdomen, and back. The most common critical organs/tissues to sustain bullet trauma in descending order were as follows: heart, lungs, liver, aorta, spleen, kidneys, and vena cava. Ribs were struck by most bullets that entered the thorax.