Labor Problems in Light of Perestroyka

A number of fundamental labor-related problems to be addressed in perestroyka is outlined by the Director of the Economics Research Institute of Gosplan. The initial presentation covers worker apathy, lack of discipline, poor correspondence between wages and the importance and skill level of various occupations, and unemployment and retraining. As a participant in the first joint Soviet Economy roundtable, he then responds to questions by American participants, a distinguished economist and an eminent political scientist, on the role of cooperatives in absorbing surplus labor displaced by restructuring, and how responsibility for re-employment of dismissed employees will be delegated. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: 124, 800.     

Promoting the Safe and Strategic Use of Technology for Victims of Intimate Partner Violence: Evaluation of the Technology Safety Project

The Technology Safety Project of the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence was designed to increase awareness and knowledge of technology safety issues for domestic violence victims, survivors, and advocacy staff. The project used a “train the trainer” model and provided computer and Internet resources to domestic violence service providers in order to (1) increase safe computer and Internet access for domestic violence survivors in Washington; (2) reduce the risk posed by abusers by educating survivors about technology safety and privacy; and (3) increase the ability of survivors to help themselves and their children through information technology. Evaluation of the project suggests that the program is needed, useful, and effective. Consumer satisfaction was high and there was perceived improvement in computer confidence and knowledge of computer safety. Areas for future program development and further research are discussed.     

Competitive analysis using a flexible demand specification

Econometric methods can be helpful when one is trying to understandthe nature of competition between products in differentiatedproducts industries, an issue that arises in many competitionpolicy contexts. However, misspecification of the consumer demandsystem can result in biased econometric results and misleadingconclusions. We discuss some considerations that go into choosinga demand system specification and suggest that a ‘flexiblefunctional form’ be used. This approach avoids placingrestrictions on the demand elasticities. We identify and discussother issues that arise in the estimation of demand systems.We conclude with an empirical example concerning the calculationof lost profits damages in a patent infringement case. Thisexample demonstrates how using a flexible functional form leadsto a substantially more reliable damages calculation than usingthe particular restrictive functional form that is commonlyused to calculate lost profits damages in patent litigation.     

Life, Health, and Disability Insurance: Understanding the Relationships

Communitarian values are stronger in health insurance than in life or disability insurance. This correlates with increased tolerance for insurers' use of genetic information in disability insurance underwriting, which, in turn, is relevant to the scope and content of proposals to regulate such use.     

Using Patent Data to Assess the Value of Pharmaceutical Innovation

Though many more patents emerge from industry sources, drug-related patents generated in the non-profit setting appear to have greater importance than patents arising from the commercial sector, which helps demonstrate the value non-profit research institutions can have in driving drug development.     

When is defendant status a shield or a liability? Clarification and extension

Previous research has documented that an offender's status may be a protective shield or a harmful liability. One model (Rosoff, 1989) contends that status effects are moderated by offense magnitude, with status providing a shield for minor offenses, but acting as a liability for major offenses. Another model (Skolnick & Shaw, 1994) asserts that the professional relatedness of an offense moderates status effects, with status acting as a shield for professionally unrelated offenses and as a liability for professionally related offenses. A study is presented to determine the moderator of these status effects. Clarifying and extending prior research of the investigators, 120 participants read one of 12 hypothetical civil case summaries and rated defendant liability, monetary damages, and other evaluative judgments. A 3×2×2 factorial design varied offense severity, defendant status, and the professional relatedness of the offense. Results strongly supported professional relatedness as the moderator of status effects, extending previous findings from criminal to civil proceedings and eliminating alternative hypotheses suggested by the earlier work.