A case analysis of section 8(a) (2) of the Taft-Hartley Act, 1950 to 1974.

Section 8 (a) (2) of the Taft-Hartley Act makes it unlawful for an employer "to dominate or interfere with the formation or administration of any labor organization or contribute financial or other support to it." This study examines 832 8 (a) (2) cases heard before the National Labor Relations Board from 1950 to 1974. These cases are divided into four basic areas under which they are closely analyzed. The first area involves actions which the Board has traditionally held indicative of company domination of a union. Discriminatory treatment of employees constitutes the second major type of case to be scrutinized. The third distinctive area included in the study is financial and material support of a union by an employer. The most complicated analysis occurs in the fourth section which examines employer contracts with and recognition of unions. Although it was predicted that 8 (a) (2) cases would disappear, large numbers of cases are filed each year. The trend has been away from cases where employers form and dominate unaffiliated unions to those where employers favor one affiliated union over another

Setting the target for the federal funds rate: the determinants of Fed behaviour

This article analyses the factors the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) considers in setting the target for the federal funds rate. The sample consists of 262 FOMC meetings between 1983 and 2005. Statistical results indicate that the Fed's target is inversely related to the unemployment rate and directly related to several measures of expected inflation. Technical factors such as the number of days since the last target change, the size and direction of the previous target change and the gap between the actual federal funds rate and its targeted value were also statistically significant explanatory variables. Estimations were performed using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), censored regression and two types of ordered probit; but the results proved to be robust regardless of the statistical technique used.

Female income and the divorce decision: evidence from micro data

Escalating divorce rates during the 1960s and 1970s led to large numbers of academic investigations into the causes of divorce. Most of these studies concentrated on a significant increase in female income that resulted from rising female labour force participation rates. The difficulty with quantifying these arguments is that it is possible to observe the income of married females or it is possible to observe the income of divorced females, but it is not possible to observe both outcomes, simultaneously. This research attempts to resolve these difficulties by using sample selection techniques to correct for possible bias from simple observation of the income of married and divorced females.

Drug Testing Laws and Employment Injuries

Employer use of employee drug-screening procedures is widespread in the U.S. A state-by-state analysis of statutory law applicable to the drug testing issue is combined with state and industry data to isolate how drug testing laws affect workplace injury rates. Based on our data, injury rates are not statistically related to the state's legal environment.