Risks in production and the management of labour

The paper considers a (static) portfolio system that satisfies adding-up contraints and the gross substitution theorem. The paper shows the relationship of the two conditions to the weak dominant diagonal property of the matrix of interest rate elasticities. This enables to investigate the impact of simultaneous changes in interest rates on the asset demands.

The Role of Maintenance and Facility Management in Logistics: A Literature Review

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to provide a literature review on the different ways of carrying out Facility Management and related topics in order to uncover that there is limited research regarding the impact of Facility Management on the logistics and operational performance of warehouses. Design/methodology/approach - Four different focus areas have been identified and for each one different methodologies and streams of research have been studied. Findings - The study underlines the importance of Facility Management for the logistics operations; therefore it supports the notion that investments aiming at preserving the status of the building and service components of warehouses are crucial. Originality/value - This paper aims to suggest to Facility Management managers that they can contribute to enhance business performance by designing effective Facility Management strategie

An integrated risk analysis framework for safety and cybersecurity of industrial SCADA system

The industrial control system (ICS) refers to a collection of various types of control systems commonly found in industrial sectors and critical infrastructures such as energy, oil and gas, transportation, and manufacturing. The supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system is a type of ICS that controls and monitors operations and industrial processes scattered across a large geographic area. SCADA systems are relying on information and communication technology to improve the efficiency of operations. This integration means that SCADA systems are targeted by the same threats and vulnerabilities that affect ICT assets. This means that the cybersecurity problem in SCADA system is exacerbated by the IT heritage issue. If the control system is compromised due to this connection, serious consequences may follow. This leads to the necessity to have an integrated framework that covers both safety and security risk analysis in this context. This thesis proposes an integrated risk analysis framework that comprise of four stages, and that build on the advances of risk science and industry standards, to improve understanding of SCADA system complexity, and manage risks considering process safety and cybersecurity in a holistic approach. The suggested framework is committed to improving safety and security risk analysis by examining the expected consequences through integrated risk identifications and identifying adequate safeguards and countermeasures to defend cyber-attack scenarios. A simplified SCADA system and an undesirable scenario of overpressure in the pipeline are presented in which the relevant stages of the framework are applied

Revising financial sector policy in transitional socialist economies : will universal banks prove viable?

Focusing on efforts under way in most transitional socialist economies, the author questions whether the banks emerging in the new policy framework will prove viable or be supervisable. He offers a model of financial sector structure designed to foster the development of a sound banking system. In describing the environment in which financial policy is being revised, the author notes that the extraordinary challenges policymakers face might influence the shape of policy. He is concerned that policies to promote a sound banking system might be overlooked or sacrificed. Fundamental policy objectives, says the author, are those important to long-term economic well-being. These include establishing and maintaining the integrity of the payments system and the safety of depositors'savings, and ensuring that money markets function. Transitional objectives, on the other hand, relate primarily to the immediate task of privatizing and restructuring enterprises. Policymakers must balance inherent conflicts between the two kinds of objectives while promoting the achievement of both. Many transitional socialist economies, he observes, adopt a policy framework that envisions universal banking. The author assesses the consequences of the immediate emergence of financial conglomerates, or universal-type banks, and questions whether - in the face of limited managerial and institutional capability, limited capability for supervising financial markets, and extraordinary financial market risks - financial conglomerates simultaneously pursuing conflicting fundamental and transitional objectives will prove viable. The author advocates delaying the emergence of financial conglomerates until skills are developed and market turmoil subsides. In the transitional period, regulatory policy would assign to banks primary responsibility for achieving fundamental objectives, and would encourage nonbank financial institutions to pursue transitional objectives. Policy should promote financial soundness in the banking system, to control the potential costs to government of achieving its fundamental objectives.Banks&Banking Reform,Financial Intermediation,Financial Crisis Management&Restructuring,Banking Law,Economic Theory&Research

Old age security in transitional economies

The former communist countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) are undertaking their second great social experiment of the century: the transition from authoritarian central planning to a market economy. One of the many problems they face during the transition is what to do with their pension systems. Their problems are more complex than countries elsewhere at the same income level for three reasons. First, the systems are mature, with high and sharply rising dependency rations. Second, pension coverage is more extensive than in most other middle-income countries, because of over industrialization and the collectivization of agriculture. Third, pension reform is being undertaken at the same time as other fundamental economic changes. The timing, sequence and political economy of pension reform are complex. The author reviews the main feature of existing EECA pension systems, identifies the major reform issues and reform options, discusses obstacles to reform, and proposes a sequence for reform. She focuses primarily on the richer, older European countries of the EECA, where pension systems have matured. Paradoxically, pensions are low in those countries, yet expenditures as a proportion of GDP are high. The main reason for this is the very lowage of retirement, which means a short contribution period and a high dependency ratio. EECA governments must bring spending promises in line with a more realistic revenue ceiling. What makes reform so difficult is that too many people have already retired. Especially during the transition, when there are few opportunities to acquire wealth and some intergenerational redistribution is needed, the retirees need a safety net whether or not they deserve one on the basis of age alone. The author's recommendations are designed to make the system more equitable and efficient for this group. Four years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, pension reform has been elusive in EECA despite the severity of the problem. The author identifies several reasons for this. First, the extent of the pension system crisis was not foreseen in the early days of the transition (except perhaps in Hungary). Indeed, some countries expanded entitlements to help induce the labor market to adjust. As the depth of the problem became clear, EECA countries have tried to formulate reform programs, but only Albania has passed legislation substantially reducing entitlements. Another reason reform has proved difficult in EECA countries is that governments have tried to reduce the scope of the public pillar without providing an alternative to assure old-age security. Failure to begin developing other pillars (based on savings and insurance principles) to meet the active generation's needs for old-age security may have doomed reform efforts from the start.Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Banks&Banking Reform,Pensions&Retirement Systems,Municipal Financial Management

TRANSGENIC CROPS AND THE ENVIRONMENT: MISSING MARKETS AND PUBLIC ROLE

The rapidity of change has left scant opportunity for investigation of the consequences of biotechnology adoption on long-term ecosystem or economic system functioning. Economic theory suggests that, if the "Biotechnology Revolution" is left to market forces alone,there will be neglected public goods. Theory and limited empirical evidence suggests that there are significant incentives for private firms to discount and neglect certain environmental impacts and to develop products that meet only the needs of those able and willing to pay. Negative distributional impacts on rural societies and economies will not normally enter the private calculus nor will the long-term problems of insect and plant resistance. Thus, there is a strong case for enhanced public roles with respect to the use of transgenic crops. The adoption of the precautionary approach in public policies addressing transgenic crops is one alternative to better reflect public concerns.Environmental Economics and Policy, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Corporate Criminal Liability for Homicide: A Statutory Framework

Since the nineteenth century, judges, legislators, prosecutors, and academics have grappled with how best to accommodate within the criminal law corporations whose conduct causes the death of others. The result of this debate was a gradual legal evolution towards acceptance of corporate criminal liability for homicide. But, as this Note argues, the underlying legal framework for such liability is ill fitting and largely ineffective. Given the public benefit that would accrue from a clearly defined and potent liability scheme, this Note proposes a model criminal statute that would hold corporations directly liable for homicide. The proposed statute draws upon basic precepts of corporate criminal liability, as well as legislative developments in the United Kingdom and the insights of organizational theory. Ultimately, this Note argues that a statutory scheme would allow prosecutions of corporations for homicide to proceed more accurately, effectively, and fairly