Collective Wage Bargaining and the Role of Institutional Stability: A Cross-National Comparison of Macroeconomic Performance

Since the advent of the economic crisis, interest in the efficacy of collective wage bargaining institutions has increased as the labour market was required to bear the burden of economic adjustment and became an important policy-field for institutional reform in many countries. In this article, the role of institutional stability, trust and certainty for the efficacy of collective bargaining systems is investigated and their effects on macroeconomic outcomes—inflation and unemployment—are analysed. We argue that stability of the institutional framework of collective bargaining is of major importance for its efficacy as it reduces uncertainty and provides the necessary basis for trust among bargaining actors. Thus, we hypothesise that institutional change and instability are associated with significant transaction costs and have, at least temporarily, negative effects on economic outcomes. The hypotheses are confirmed by an empirical analysis, which uses data of 34 industrialised countries from 1965 to 2014

Instability and Change in Collective Bargaining: An Analysis of the Effects of Changing Institutional Structures

Previous studies on collective bargaining structures and macroeconomic performance have largely ignored the role of stable and instable institutional structures and the effects of institutional change itself. In this article we posit that institutional stability of collective bargaining is of major importance for the moderation of unit labour costs growth. This hypothesis is tested on the basis of data which cover the period 1965–2012 and includes 28 countries. The results show that institutional change impairs the capacity to moderate unit labour cost growth significantly in the subsequent years following the change. This effect also holds for changes in both decentralization and centralization of institutions

Risk profiles and one-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in India: Insights from the GARFIELD-AF Registry.

BACKGROUND: The Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) is an ongoing prospective noninterventional registry, which is providing important information on the baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and 1-year outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This report describes data from Indian patients recruited in this registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 52,014 patients with newly diagnosed AF were enrolled globally; of these, 1388 patients were recruited from 26 sites within India (2012-2016). In India, the mean age was 65.8 years at diagnosis of NVAF. Hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor for AF, present in 68.5% of patients from India and in 76.3% of patients globally (P < 0.001). Diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) were prevalent in 36.2% and 28.1% of patients as compared with global prevalence of 22.2% and 21.6%, respectively (P < 0.001 for both). Antiplatelet therapy was the most common antithrombotic treatment in India. With increasing stroke risk, however, patients were more likely to receive oral anticoagulant therapy [mainly vitamin K antagonist (VKA)], but average international normalized ratio (INR) was lower among Indian patients [median INR value 1.6 (interquartile range {IQR}: 1.3-2.3) versus 2.3 (IQR 1.8-2.8) (P < 0.001)]. Compared with other countries, patients from India had markedly higher rates of all-cause mortality [7.68 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval 6.32-9.35) vs 4.34 (4.16-4.53), P < 0.0001], while rates of stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding were lower after 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to previously published registries from India, the GARFIELD-AF registry describes clinical profiles and outcomes in Indian patients with AF of a different etiology. The registry data show that compared to the rest of the world, Indian AF patients are younger in age and have more diabetes and CAD. Patients with a higher stroke risk are more likely to receive anticoagulation therapy with VKA but are underdosed compared with the global average in the GARFIELD-AF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362

Laser patterning for paper-based fluidics

Paper-based microfluidics is a rapidly progressing inter-disciplinary technology driven by the need for low-cost alternatives to conventional point-of-care diagnostic tools. For transport of reagents/analytes, such devices often consist of interconnected hydrophilic fluid-flow channels that are demarcated by hydrophobic barrier walls that extend through the thickness of the paper. Here, we present a laser-based fabrication procedure that uses photo-polymerisation of a negative hydrophobic photoresist in order to produce the required fluidic channels in paper. Analysis showed that the structures directed the flow of water and hence the technique is suited for fabrication of microfluidic devices

Training and Skills Development Policy Options for the Changing World of Work

The literature on the changing world of work in the age of disruptive technologies is growing, demonstrating both the interest in and urgency of the issue. Drawing on an in-depth literature review, this article offers a critical assessment of the current state of empirical knowledge about what labour market training after disruption might look like. We also present results of a jurisdictional scan of current labour market training programs in Canada. We then examine the extent to which current policy practices regarding education and training are informed by existing research. We find that the “futurist” work has offered some predictions about expected macro changes in the workforce, including polarization of jobs, job destruction, and the scope and depth of disruption in both the global North and global South. Other research provides some insights into promising programs and policies. However, empirical analyses of these programs - with attention to the changing landscape of work - is limited. In addition, little is known empirically about the track record of success of current education, training, and social programs to adapt to and respond to the new world of work. Finally, alignment between the limited existing empirical research and programs that are currently being delivered to address the changing nature of work is tenuous at best. Thus, policy makers need to redouble efforts to invest in research as to who works and what works in this new technological era in order to respond effectively to anticipated labour force disruptions.This research was funded by a grant from the Ontario Human Capital Research and Innovation Fund (OHCRIF) from the Ontario Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development