Corporate stakeholders and trust

To our knowledge, this is the first paper that investigates the links between trust, the institutional setting (in terms of employment protection legislation (EPL) and investor rights) and studies the impact of all three on economic performance. In line with the previous literature (e.g. Knack and Keefer (1997), Zak and Knack (2001)), we find that trust has a positive impact on GDP per capita growth. Our novel results are twofold. First, we find that EPL and investor rights have a negative relationship and that both (although the latter to a lesser extent) are substitutes for trust. Second, all three variables have a positive effect on economic growth

Monetary policy before and after the euro: evidence from Greece

We model Greek monetary policy in the 1990s and use our findings to address two interrelated questions. First, how was monetary policy conducted in the 1990s so that the hitherto highest-inflation EU country managed to join the euro by 2001? Second, how compatible is the current ECB monetary policy with Greek economic conditions? We find that Greek monetary policy in the 1990s was: (i) primarily determined by foreign (German/ECB) interest rates though still influenced, to some degree, by domestic fundamentals; (ii) involving non- linear output gap effects; (iii) subject to a deficit of credibility culminating in the 1998 devaluation. On the question of compatibility our findings depend on the value assumed for the equilibrium post-euro real interest rate and overall indicate both a reductio n in the pre-euro risk premium and some degree of monetary policy incompatibility. Our analysis has policy implications for the new EU members and motivates further research on fast-growing EMU economies

Artists, art worlds and studios: a research note from Wales

This research note draws from ethnographic research on artistic practice in postdevolution Wales. More specifically it draws from observations, interviews and field notes gathered during encounters with artists ‘in-studio’. The research note explores the complex engagement between social researcher, biography and charismatic artist as a dialogic enterprise. This is then discussed in relation to the notions of art-worlds, the creative self and charisma as an accomplished and embodied social fact

Identity commitments in personal stories of mental illness on the Internet

The Internet augments the informational flows that organize biographies in late modernity. Sufferers of bipolar disorder (manic depression) may turn to the Internet for accessible information, to learn about others’ experiences and impart their own knowledge. Personal accounts posted in the public domain become themselves part of those informational flows, and thus acquire a dual life at a boundary between private and public domains. This poses certain challenges for the investigation of computer-mediated autobiographical telling, which are identified in this paper and negotiated in an analysis of downloaded personal accounts of bipolar disorder. Two of the stories are selected for a close look. Story 1 tells about achieving long-term remission through personal resolve and psychological alternatives to medication. Story 2 tells about becoming able to talk about the illness through the achievement of a social identity as ‘manic depressive’. The stories’ similarities, differences, and comparability with the other texts are discussed with a view to theorizing how such texts position their implied author in the illness experience. Building upon Bakhtin’s idea of a text’s plan and its realization, a concept of ‘identity commitments’ as textual properties is proposed

Unincluded union members: evidence from the Labour Force Survey

Trade unions are widely regarded as functional for members, despite growing concerns over their effectiveness. However, specific analyses of members whose conditions are not affected by unions are absent from the debate. The present paper explores the relation of these members to workplace characteristics, flexible employment and work-status , hoping to provide a contribution to the examination of membership patterns. We analyse Labour Force Survey data from autumn 2010, using logistic regression modelling to identify the segments of members beyond the reach of unions. The results suggest that such a membership position is linked to the range of work-related circumstances considered, with a varying degree of influence on men and women. In particular, it correlates with educational and occupational levels, especially among male members

Involuntary part-time workers in Britain: evidence from the Labour Force Survey

Part-time work is widely considered functional for the economy, with both benign and detrimental implications for employees. However, specific analyses of involuntary part-timing in Britain are surprisingly absent from the flexibility debate; and workers in such positions remain largely under-researched. This article explores the relation of involuntary part-time work to demographic and work-related circumstances, hoping to provide a contribution to the examination of working patterns in the UK. We analyse Labour Force Survey data, using logistic regression modelling to identify the segments of workers filling part-time jobs involuntarily. The results suggest that being couple with dependant children considerably reduces the likelihood of involuntariness among female part-timers whereas it has an opposed effect on their male counterparts. Lower educational and occupational levels, on the other hand, imply a higher likelihood of involuntariness across both sexes