The Long-Run Cost of Job Loss as Measured by Consumption Changes

The costs of involuntary job loss are of substantial research and policy interest. We consider the measurement of the cost of job displacement with household expenditure data. With a Canadian panel survey of individuals who experienced a job separation, we compare the consumption growth of households that experienced a permanent layoff to a control group of households that experienced a temporary layoff with known recall date. Because the firms employing the latter group are providing insurance, these workers approximate a bench mark of full insurance against job loss shocks. We estimate that permanent layoffs experience an average consumption loss of between 4 and 10 percent. Older workers and workers with high job tenure have losses closer to the top of this range.Job Displacement, Consumption

Shocks, Stocks and Socks: Consumption Smoothing and the Replacement of Durables During an Unemployment Spell

We present theoretical and empirical results on consumption during an unemployment spell. The theory model extends the conventional intertemporal allocation model to take explicit account of the fact that households buy clothing and small durable goods (such as pillows and plates) that are indivisible, irreversible and non-collateralisable. The theoretical analysis suggests that liquidity constrained agents cut back on expenditures on these small durables during a low income spell much more than would be suggested by the income elasticities of these goods in ‘normal' times. Conversely, non-durable expenditures flows are much smoother than would be predicted in a model without durables. Thus it seems that agents can smooth utility flows even when total expenditure (on durables and non-durables) is quite volatile. The implications of this model are compared to the implications from three other widely used models of intertemporal allocation. In the empirical section, we exploit the information in a new Canadian panel survey of 20,000 workers who separated from a job in 1993 or 1995. As well as conventional survey information, this survey includes expenditure and asset information. Administrative data from several sources are linked to this panel to provide a detailed picture of the circumstances of households in which one member is unemployed. We estimate a joint total expenditure and demand system and test whether either the level of total expenditure or the structure of demand are sensitive to differences in the Unemployment Insurance benefit rate. We find that they are for households who have no liquid assets. Of the models that we consider, only the intertemporal allocation model proposed in this paper is consistent with this finding.

Shocks, stocks and socks: smoothing consumption over a temporary income loss

Recent research has demonstrated that some households cut back on expenditures in an unemployment spell. Moreover, some of these households respond to variation in the transitory income provided by unemployment insurance benefits. This suggests that these households are constrained in the sense that they respond to variations in current income even if these do not have any permanent impact. In this paper we take up the question of how households in temporarily straitened circumstances cut back and how they spend marginal dollars of transfer income. Our theoretical and empirical analysis emphasises the importance of allowing for the fact that households buy durable as well as non-durable goods. The theoretical analysis shows that in the short run households can significantly cut back on total expenditures without a significant fall in welfare if they concentrate their budget reductions on durables. We present an empirical analysis based on a Canadian survey of workers who experienced a job separation. Exploiting changes in the unemployment insurance system over our sample period we show that cuts in UI benefits lead to reductions in total expenditure with a stronger impact on clothing than on food expenditures. These effects are particularly strong for households with no liquid assets and/or households in which the lost income was ‘important’ for the household.consumption; expenditure; durables; unemployment; unemployment insurance

The Life Cycle Model of Consumption and Saving

The life-cycle model is the standard framework which economists use to think about the intertemporal allocation of time, money and effort. The model suggests that households should `smooth' expenditures. One of the strengths of the model is that it provides a single framework which integrates allocation at many different frequencies. Accordingly, we provide an assesment of the life- cycle model by re-examining the empirical evidence for smoothing (1) within the year, (2)at year-to-year or business cycle frequencies, (3) over the working life, and (4) across the stages of life, such as working into retirement. We conclude that although unresolved challenges remain, the model has had many more successes than failures. We provide some calculations that show that where deviations from the model's predictions have been detected, they imply very small welfare costs for households. Moreover, economists are really just beginning systematic application of general theory models to microdata. Thus it is much too early to abandon the life-cycle model.life cycle model; consumption; saving

The Long-Run Cost of Job Loss as Measured by Consumption Changes

The costs of involutary job loss are of substantial research and policy interest. We consider the measurement of the cost of job displacement with household expenditure data. With a Canadian panel survey of individuals who experienced a job separation, we compare the consumption growth of households that experienced a permanent layoff to a control group of households that experienced a temporary layoff with known recall date. Because the firms employing the latter group are providing insurance, these workers approximate a bench mark of full insurance against job loss shocks. We estimate that permanent layoffs experience an average consumption loss of between 4 and 10 percent. Older workers and workers with high job tenure have losses closer to the top of this range.Job Displacement, Consumption

Against the grain

An Organic Research Centre project is examining how diversity-based tools can assist in the on-farm improvement of organic wheat. Successful organic crop production requires varieties that are resistant to diseases, competitive against weeds, and effective at scavenging nutrients. Yet conventional plant breeding has largely neglected organic systems by breeding varieties exclusively for high input conditions. As a consequence, organic producers currently do not have enough choice of plant varieties for organic conditions. One way to expand the choice is to create plant diversity anew and subject it to natural selection on organic farms. After several generations the dominating plants would be better suited to organic systems. This idea is being tested in the Organic Research Centre’s Wheat Breeding LINK project

Enhancing Care Transitions for Older People through Interprofessional Simulation: A Mixed Method Evaluation

Introduction: The educational needs of the health and social care workforce for delivering effective integrated care are important. This paper reports on the development, pilot and evaluation of an interprofessional simulation course, which aimed to support integrated care models for care transitions for older people from hospital to home. Theory and methods: The course development was informed by a literature review and a scoping exercise with the health and social care workforce. The course ran six times and was attended by health and social care professionals from hospital and community (n=49). The evaluation aimed to elicit staff perceptions of their learning about care transfers of older people and to explore application of learning into practice and perceived outcomes. The study used a sequential mixed method design with questionnaires completed pre (n=44) and post (n=47) course and interviews (n=9) 2-5 months later. Results:Participants evaluated interprofessional simulation as a successful strategy. Post-course, participants identified learning points and at the interviews, similar themes with examples of application in practice were: Understanding individual needs and empathy; Communicating with patients and families; Interprofessional working; Working across settings to achieve effective care transitions. Conclusions and discussion:An interprofessional simulation course successfully brought together health and social care professionals across settings to develop integrated care skills and improve care transitions for older people with complex needs from hospital to home

Results of the 1986 NASA/FAA/DFVLR main rotor test entry in the German-Dutch wind tunnel (DNW)

An acoustics test of a 40%-scale MBB BO-105 helicopter main rotor was conducted in the Deutsch-Niederlandischer Windkanal (DNW). The research, directed by NASA Langley Research Center, concentrated on the generation and radiation of broadband noise and impulsive blade-vortex interaction (BVI) noise over ranges of pertinent rotor operational envelopes. Both the broadband and BVI experimental phases are reviewed, along with highlights of major technical results. For the broadband portion, significant advancement is the demonstration of the accuracy of prediction methods being developed for broadband self noise, due to boundary layer turbulence. Another key result is the discovery of rotor blade-wake interaction (BWI) as an important contributor to mid frequency noise. Also the DNW data are used to determine for full scale helicopters the relative importance of the different discrete and broadband noise sources. For the BVI test portion, a comprehensive data base documents the BVI impulsive noise character and directionality as functions of rotor flight conditions. The directional mapping of BVI noise emitted from the advancing side as well as the retreating side of the rotor constitutes a major advancement in the understanding of this dominant discrete mechanism

Flexible metamaterials at visible wavelengths

We report on the fabrication and characterization of plasmonic structures on flexible substrates (Metaflex) and demonstrate the optical properties of a single layer of Metaflex. The layer exhibits a plasmonic resonance in the visible region around 620 nm. We show experimental and numerical results for both nano-antennas and fishnet geometries. We anticipate the use of Metaflex as a building block for flexible metamaterials in the visible range.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe