Workers' compensation: coverage, benefits, and costs, 1985

The 84.3 million workers protected by workers' compensation laws in 1985 represented 87 percent of all wage and salary workers in that year. Both the amount of benefits paid to workers and the cost of the program to employers rose substantially from 1984 to 1985. Benefit payments totaled $22.5 billion-14.1 percent higher than in 1984 and the largest annual increase since 1978-79. About two-thirds of the payments in 1985 were money payments ($15.1 billion) and the remainder ($7.4 billion) went for medical care for disabled workers. Private insurance companies made nearly three-fifths of these payments and State funds and self-insured employers each paid about one-fifth of the total benefit amount in 1985. For the first time since 1978, the annual growth in employer costs exceeded the growth in workers' benefits, resulting in a slight decrease in the loss ratio for 1984-85. Employer costs were up nearly 17 percent from the previous year, reaching an estimated $29.3 billion. Covered payrolls increased by 7 percent in that same period. Total benefit payments as a percent of payroll also increased noticeably in 1985.     

From Voucher Auditing to Junkyard Dogs: The Evolution of Federal Inspectors General

Accountability in American government reaches as far back as the Continental Congress and General Washington's army. This tradition of accountability is carried on today by inspector general offices set up in almost every major department of the federal government. Through their audits and investigations, the inspectors general voice concerns over government internal controls, economy, efficiency, and effectiveness. Since 1981 they claim savings from their work totaling $92 billion.
"Some officials handle large sums of public money; it is therefore necessary to have other officials to receive and examine the accounts. These inspectors must administer no funds themselves. Different cities call them examiners, auditors, scrutineers and public advocates." These are the words of Aristotle in 325 B.C. Today, the United States government has its inspectors general to examine, audit, scrutinize, and advocate.     

Doubling the estimated value of life: Results using new occupational fatality data

Using a new series of data on occupational fatalities compiled by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the authors reassess value-of-life calculations based on labor market tradeoffs between fatality risks and wages. The new data are less subject to the problems of measurement error that plague previously used measures of risk. They indicate higher risk levels than previously believed and a significantly different composition of risk levels within industries. The more comprehensive risk data yield value-of-life estimates of $5 million or more—at least twice as large as estimates obtained using the Bureau of Labor Statistics risk data employed in previous studies.     

Reciprocity in Sino-American economic relations

He is the author ofChange, Continuity and Commitment: China’s Adaptive Foreign Policy (forthcoming, University Press of America).     

A. Reviews: general

THE HISTORY OF AL‐TABARI (TA'RIKH AL‐RUSUL WA ‘L‐MULÜK). [An annotated translation] (Bibliotheca Persica) (SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies):

VOLUME XXVII: THE ‘ABBASID REVOLUTION [A.D. 743–750/A.H. 126–132]. Translated and annotated by JOHN ALDEN WILLIAMS. Albany, State University of New York Press, 1985. xiv, 233pp.

VOLUME XXXV: THE CRISIS OF THE ‘ABBASID CALIPHATE: [THE CALIPHATES OF AL‐MUSTA'IN AND AL‐MUTAZZ A.D. 862–869/A.H. 248–255]. Translated and annotated by GEORGE SALIBA. Albany, State University of New York Press, 1985. xii, 187pp.

VOLUME XXXVIII: THE RETURN OF THE CALIPHATE TO BAGHDAD: [THE CALIPHATES OF AL‐MUTADID, AL‐MUKTAFI AND AL‐MUQTADIR A.D. 892–915/A.H. 279–302]. Translated and annotated by FRANZ ROSENTHAL. Albany, State University of New York Press, 1985. xxii, [2], 239pp.

VOLUME XVIII: BETWEEN CIVIL WARS: THE CALIPHATE OF MU'AWIYAH [A.D. 661–680/A.H. 40–60]. Translated and annotated by MICHAEL G. MORONY. Albany, State University of New York Press, 1987. xi, 261pp.

AN INTRODUCTION TO SHI'I ISLAM: THE HISTORY AND DOCTRINES OF TWELVER SHI'ISM. By MOOJAN MOMEN. New Haven & London, Yale University Press, xxii, 397pp.

JEWISH LIFE UNDER ISLAM: JERUSALEM IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. By AMNON COHEN. London, Harvard University Press, 1984.

ISLAMIC ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY: Collected Papers. By RICHARD ETTINGHAUSEN. Prepared and edited by MIRIAM ROSEN AYALON. Berlin, Gebr. Mann Verlag, 1984. 1318pp.

THEMES FROM NORTHERN SUDAN. By AHMED AL‐SHAHI. (Brismes Series No 1.) London, Ithaca Press, 1986 152pp. £15.00.

SYRIA UNDER ASSAD: DOMESTIC CONSTRAINTS AND REGIONAL RISKS. Edited by MOSHE MAOZ and AVNER YASIV. London, Croom Helm, 1986. 273pp., maps, notes. £25.00

THE STRUGGLE FOR THE ARAB WORLD: EGYPT'S NASSER AND THE ARAB LEAGUE. By TAWFIG Y. HASOU. London, Kegan Paul International, 1985. 228pp., appendices, notes, bibliography. £25.00

DESPATCHES FROM DAMASCUS: GILBERT MACKERETH AND BRITISH POLICY IN THE LEVANT, 1933–1939. By MICHAEL G. FRY and ITAMAR RABINOVICH. Jerusalem, University of Southern California and Tel Aviv University, 1985. 225pp.

THE MAKING OF MODERN LEBANON. By HELENA COBBAN. London, Hutchinson, 1985, 248pp., illus., maps, bibliography. £6.95.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN EDUCATION IN THE GULF. By SHEIKHA AL‐MISNAD. London, Ithaca Press, 1986. 386pp., tables, appendices, bibliography. £24.95.

SAUDI ARABIA: THE CEASELESS QUEST FOR SECURITY. By NADAV SAFRAN. London, Harvard University Press, 1985. 542pp., map, tables, notes, appendices, bibliography. £21.25.

THE MANPOWER IN KUWAIT. By SHAMLAN Y. ALESSA. London, Kegan Paul International, 1981. 140pp., tables, notes, bibliography. £30.00.

OMAN AND MUSCAT: AN EARLY MODERN HISTORY. By PATRICIA RISSO. London, Croom Helm, 1986. 258pp., glossary, maps, notes, bibliography. £19.95.

TUYUR ‘UMAN (Birds of Oman). By MICHAEL GALLAGHER and MARTIN W. WOODCOCK. London, Quartet, 1985. 308pp., coloured illustrations, maps, bibliography. £35.00.     

B. Reviews: general

THE HISTORY OF AL‐TABARl (TA'RIKH AL‐RUSUL WA ‘L‐MULÜK). (An annotated translation] (Bibliotheca Persica) (SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies):

VOLUME II: PROPHETS AND PATRIARCHS. Translated and annotated by WILLIAM M. BRINNER. Albany, State University of New York Press, 1987. xii, 207pp.

VOLUME IV: THE ANCIENT KINGDOMS. Translated and annotated by MOSHE PERLMANN. Albany, State University of New York Press, 1987. xii, 205pp.

THE FIRST DYNASTY OF ISLAM: THE UMAYYAD CALIPHATE ad 661–750. By G.R. HAWTTNG. London and Sydney, Croom Helm, 1986. xx, 141pp., 4 genealogical tables, 2 maps. £19.95.

THE ADVENTURES OF IBN BATTUTA, A MUSLIM TRAVELLER OF THE 14TH CENTURY. By ROSS E. DUNN. London, Croom Helm, 1986. xvi, 357 pages, 12 maps. £22.50

TRADE AND CIVILISATION IN THE INDIAN OCEAN. AN ECONOMIC HISTORY FROM THE RISE OF ISLAM TO 1750. By K..N. CHAUDHURI. Cambridge, C.U.P., 1985. xiv + 269 pp. £25.00 Hardback, £8.95 Paperback.

MAMLUK JERUSALEM: AN ARCHITECTURAL STUDY. By MICHAEL HAMILTON BURGOYNE and DONALD S. RICHARDS. London, World of Islam Festival Trust for the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem, 1987. xii, 623pp. £115.00

ISLAMIC TECHNOLOGY: AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY. By AHMAD Y. AL‐HASSAN and DONALD R. HILL. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press/Paris, Unesco, 1986. xiv, [ii], 304pp. 165 illustrations, 1 map. £25.00.

OIL, INDUSTRIALISATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE ARAB GULF STATES. By ATIF A. KUBURSI, London, Croom Helm, 1984. 144 pp. Paperback.

BRITAIN'S INFORMAL EMPIRE IN THE MIDDLE EAST: A CASE STUDY OF IRAQ 1929–1941. By DANIEL SILVERFARB. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986. xii + 200 pp. $24.95 cloth.

IRAQ BETWEEN THE TWO WORLD WARS: THE CREATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A NATIONALIST IDEOLOGY. By REEVA S. SIMON. New York: Columbia University Press, 1986. xviii + 233 pp. $30.00 cloth.

SADDAM'S IRAQ: REVOLUTION OR REACTION? London, Zed Press, 1986, for CARDRI (Committee against repression and for democratic rights in Iraq). 254pp. Paper.

THE EVOLUTION OF THE SHATT AL‐ARAB BOUNDARY DISPUTE. By RICHARD SCHOFIELD, London, MENAS Press, 1986. 111 pp. Paper.

JORDAN IN THE 1967 WAR. By SAMIR A. MUTAWI. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1987. 228pp. £22.50.

UNDER SIEGE: P.L.O. DECISIONMAKING DURING THE 1982 WAR. By RASHID KHALIDI. New York, Columbia University Press, 1986. 241 pp.

EMPIRE ON THE NILE. THE ANGLO‐EGYPTIAN SUDAN, 1898–1934. By M.W. DALY. Cambridge University Press, 1986. xv + 524 pp. + Map and 21 illustrations. £40.00.

ISLAM AND THE THIRD UNIVERSAL THEORY: THE RELIGIOUS THOUGHT OF MU'AMMAR AL‐QADHDHAFI. By MAHMOUD MUSTAFA AYOUB. London, KPI Ltd., 1987. 155pp.

APPROACHES TO ISLAM. (World Religions in Education Series.) By RICHARD TAMES. London, John Murray, 1982. 264pp. P/B £4.95

MORALS AND MANNERS IN ISLAM. By MARWAN IBRAHIM AL‐KAYSI. Leicester, The Islamic Foundation, 1986. 200pp. H/B £9.50 P/B £4.50

REMEMBRANCE AND PRAYER. By MUHAMMAD AL‐GHAZAALI. Translated by Yusuf Talal de Lorenzo. Leicester, The Islamic Foundation, 1986. 232pp. H/B £10.00 P/B £4.95

THE ISLAMIC WAY OF LIFE. By SAYYID ABUL A'LA MAWDUDI. Edited by Khurshid Ahmad and Khurram Murad. Leicester, The Islamic Foundation, 1986. 80pp. H/B £6.50 P/B £2.00

ADMINISTRATIVE DEVELOPMENT: AN ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE. By A. AL‐BURAEY. London, KPI Ltd., 1985.470pp.

ARAB SOCIETY. Edited by SAMIH K. FARSOUN. London, Croom Helm, 1985. 125pp.

WOMEN OF SAUDI ARABIA. By SORAYA ALTO'RKI. New York, Columbia University Press, 1986. 183pp. $30.00

THE DEVELOPMENT OF EARLY ARABIC DRAMA 1847–1900. By MOHAMED A. AL‐KHOZAI. London, Longman, 1984. ix, 245pp. £7.95.

FROM NATIONALISM TO REVOLUTIONARY ISLAM. Edited by SAID AMIR ARJOMAND. Albany, State University of New York Press, 1984. 256pp.

OCCIDENTOSIS: A PLAGUE FROM THE WEST. By JALAL AL‐I AHMAD (translated by R. CAMPBELL, edited by HAMID ALGAR). Berkeley, Ca, Mizan Press, 1984. 160pp. $5.95.

THE RISING OF AL‐HUSAYN: ITS IMPACT ON THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF MUSLIM SOCIETY. By SHAYKH MUHAMMAD MAHDI SHAMS AL‐DIN (translated by I.K.A. HOWARD). London, Muhammadi Trust (distributed by Routledge and Kegan Paul), 1985. 218pp.

IRAN SINCE THE REVOLUTION: INTERNAL DYNAMICS, REGIONAL CONFLICTS AND THE SUPERPOWERS. Edited by BARRY ROSEN. (Brooklyn College Studies on Societies in Change, No. 47.) New York, Columbia University Press, 1985. 187pp., 27 plates, 4 maps.

IN IRAN: STUDIES IN BÁBÍ AND BAHÁ'Í HISTORY. Volume 3. Edited by PETER SMITH. Los Angeles, Kalimat Press, 1986. 237pp. HC $19.95.