A Dilemma for Saulish Skepticism: Either Self-Defeating or Not Even Skepticism

Jennifer Saul argues that the evidence from the literature on implicit biases entails a form of skepticism. In this paper, I argue that Saul faces a dilemma: her argument is either self-defeating, or it does not yield a skeptical conclusion. For Saul, both results are unacceptable; thus, her argument fails

Organic Farming and food quality chains in Europe

Out from the evolutions of the European agro food systems since the 80’ and besides Organic Farming, several other modes of production developed in parallel to the main stream system. This gave rise, during the last decades, to different research agendas and networks, which in general – and unfortunately - ignore each others. This paper intends to give some outlines to account for the diversity of those ap-proaches and give some path of convergence for the future. In the frame of the new European agricultural policy, those research networks could gain credibility and power through improving connections with each others and make their relations more intense

Director Confidentiality

The Corporate Directors Guidebook contains the bare proposition that a director must keep confidential all matters involving the corporation that have not been disclosed to the public. Moscow explores the need to modify the flat recitation of a rule of director confidentiality in light of the limited authority for a blanket restriction, and the necessary exceptions in the business contexts in which the issue arises. In particular, many situations do not involve damage to the corporation, or there is express or implied consent to the sharing of information

The irresponsible director

To improve the position of one creditor for a company in insolvency is nearly always at another creditor’s expense. However, if directors could be held liable for their irresponsible behaviour, this may allow liquidators further opportunities to make directors to make good the loss to their companies or their companies’ creditors. This could be done by revisiting s.172 of the Companies Act 2006 which has not, so far, been particularly effective in improving directorial decision-making. Lessons may be learned from the wording of directors’ duties in other jurisdictions, in particular Ireland

Staff Pay Levels for Selected Positions in Senators’ Offices, FY2009-FY2013

[Excerpt] This report provides pay data for 16 staff position titles that are typically deployed in Senators’ offices. The positions include the following: Administrative Director; Casework Supervisor; Caseworker; Chief of Staff; Communications Director; Counsel; Executive Assistant; Field Representative; Legislative Assistant; Legislative Correspondent; Legislative Director; Press Secretary; Scheduler; “Specials Director,” a combined category that includes the job titles Director of Projects, Director of Special Projects, Director of Federal Projects, Director of Grants, Projects Director, or Grants Director; Staff Assistant; and State Director. Senators’ staff pay data for the years FY2009-FY2013 were derived from a random sampling of Senators’ offices in which at least one staff member worked in a position in each year

The Review of Economic Performance and Social Progress 2002: Towards a Social Understanding of Productivity

This chapter by Emile Tompa provides a comprehensive review of the theoretical underpinnings and empirical evidence of the health-productivity relationship with an emphasis on the public policy implications. This relationship goes well beyond the obvious effect of health on capacity to work both in terms of energy level and working time. Focusing on the Grossman model, the author describes three additional pathways through which health can affect productivity at an aggregate level. For instance, individuals with a longer life expectancy may choose to invest more in education as they receive greater returns from their investment. They may also be motivated to save more for retirement, which would lead to greater accumulation of physical capital. Finally, improvement in the survival and health of young children may provide incentives for reduced fertility and may result in increased labour-force participation.Health, Safety, Human Capital, Nutrition, Longevity, Disability, Sickness, Productivity, Labour Productivity, Labor Productivity, Growth, Life Expectancy, Healthcare, Health Care, Health Spending, Investment, Childcare, Child Care

The Review of Economic Performance and Social Progress 2001: The Longest Decade: Canada in the 1990s

In this chapter, Pierre Fortin provides a critique of the conduct of Canadian monetary policy in the 1990s, a critique that he developed throughout the decade. While not denying that the US economic slowdown in the early 1990s reduced growth in Canada, Fortin lays the blame for the inferior economic performance of the Canadian economy relative to the U.S. economy squarely on the back of the Bank of Canada, and dismisses structural explanations of the recession as lacking an empirical basis.Monetary Policy, Inflation, Inflation Reduction, Inflation Policy, Growth, Recession, Well-being, Wellbeing, Well Being, Unemployment, NAIRU, Phillips Curve, Canada

The Review of Economic Performance and Social Progress 2001: The Longest Decade: Canada in the 1990s

In this chapter, Jim Stanford agrees that measures were needed to eliminate the deficit. But he argues that Paul Martin's program spending cuts were larger than necessary and caused real pain in many areas of Canadian life. He shows that a strategy in which program spending was frozen in nominal terms, but not cut, would have produced more growth and employment and still yielded almost the same deficit by 1999 (although slightly higher debt levels) as the program-cutting path actually followed.Deficit, Debt, Program Spending, Expenditure, Fiscal Policy, Growth, Unemployment, Deficit Reduction, Canada

The Review of Economic Performance and Social Progress 2002: Towards a Social Understanding of Productivity

In this chapter, William Scarth examines the relationship between population aging, productivity and growth in living standards and reaches a more optimistic conclusion about the effects of aging on productivity. Indeed, he finding that aging may in fact lead to increases in productivity, even if no policy initiative is taken. He argues that our economy possesses at least three adjustment mechanisms that insulate living standards from the adverse effects of an aging population.Aging, Ageing, Population Aging, Demography, Demographic Shift, Baby Boomers, Baby Boom, Dependence, Indebtedness, Debt, Investment, Productivity, Simulation, Growth, Consumption

The Review of Economic Performance and Social Progress 2002: Towards a Social Understanding of Productivity

In this chapter, Joseph Heath argues that we tend to overestimate the contribution that further productivity growth will make to the welfare of Canadians. Traditionally, productivity growth was thought to contribute to increased leisure time, greater consumer satisfaction, the elimination of poverty and greater public support for redistributive efforts to narrow social inequality. While accepting that such benefits have flowed in the past, Heath argues that in the last 25 years, productivity growth has contributed less and less to the well-being of Canadians. The key puzzle for Heath is why further economic growth does not lead to greater happiness. In attempting to solve this puzzle, he canvasses three currents of thought in the literature. One possible explanation is that increased consumption does not generate lasting increments in welfare because the process of satisfying our desires generates new desires. A second explanation, which Heath describes contends that consumption not only satisfies needs but also communicates status, class, upbringing and tastes. A third possible explanation draws on the work of Fred Hirsch, who argued that the supply of some goods such as waterfront property, which he labels positional goods, is fixed.Social Priority, Productivity, Social, Labour Productivity, Labor Productivity, Growth, Free Lunch, Redistribution, Poverty, Consumption, Happiness, Competitive Consumption, Positional Goods, Externalities, Leisure, Welfare, Satisfaction, Living Standards, Quality of Life, Public Goods, Wants, Needs