Comparable-Worth Wage Adjustments and Female Employment in the State and Local Sector

Our paper simulates the likely effects of a comparable-worth wage-adjustment policy in the state and local sector on female employment in the sector. The simulation is based on estimates of within-occupation male/female substitution and across-occupation occupational employment substitution that we obtain using data from the 1980 Census of Population

Exact analytical solution of viscous Korteweg-deVries equation for water waves

The evolution of a solitary wave with very weak nonlinearity which was originally investigated by Miles [4] is revisited. The solution for a one-dimensional gravity wave in a water of uniform depth is considered. This leads to finding the solution to a Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) equation in which the nonlinear term is small. Also considered is the asymptotic solution of the linearized KdV equation both analytically and numerically. As in Miles [4], the asymptotic solution of the KdV equation for both linear and weakly nonlinear case is found using the method of inversescattering theory. Additionally investigated is the analytical solution of viscous-KdV equation which reveals the formation of the Peregrine soliton that decays to the initial sech^2(\xi) soliton and eventually growing back to a narrower and higher amplitude bifurcated Peregrine-type soliton.Comment: 15 page

The Restructuring and Privatisation of British Rail: Was it really that bad?

Following the government�s decision to place Railtrack into administration (October 2001), attention has focused on what went wrong with privatisation, and how crucial network investment will be financed in future. This paper uses a social cost-benefit analysis framework to assess whether the restructuring and privatisation of British Rail has produced savings in operating costs. The paper shows that major efficiencies have been achieved, consumers have benefited through lower prices, whilst the increased government subsidy has been largely recouped through privatisation proceeds. We find that output quality has also improved (pre-Hatfield). The achievement of further savings will be key to delivering improved rail services in the future. This paper finds that a privatised structure, where shareholders demand a return on their investment, has led to significant improvements in operating efficiency - it remains to be seen whether the new regime, with a not-for-profit infrastructure owner, will deliver the same efficiency improvements

Effect of limb darkening on earth radiation incident on a spherical satellite

The thermal radiation from the earth incident on a spherical satellite depends on the angular distribution of earth-emitted radiation. An analysis is presented of this dependency, and calculated results are given, based on a published limb-darkening curve for the earth. The curve was determined from Tiros data, and is a statistical average over the entire globe between 75 deg latitude. The computed effect of limb darkening was 1.8 percent at 900 km altitude, 2.5 percent at 500 km altitude, and 3.0 percent at 300 km altitude. Below 300 km, it increased rapidly with decreasing altitude. Discussion is included of various other problems inherent in the use of orbiting spheres and stabilized flat plates to measure the heat radiated from the earth

Comparable Worth in the Public Sector

Proponents of comparable worth assert that within a firm jobs can be valued in terms of the skill, effort and responsibility they require, as well as the working conditions they offer, and that jobs that are of comparable worth to the firm should receive equal compensation. After documenting the major push that has occurred for comparable worth in the state and local sector, Section II of our paper discusses the case for and against comparable worth from the perspective of analystical economists.The reminder of the paper is empirical in nature and focuses on issues that arise when one attempts to implement comparable worth. Section III addresses attempts by various states to infer if comparable worth "wage gaps" exist from job evaluation studies they have conducted and tests how sensitive their results are to the statistical methods used to infer discrimination. Section IV estimates whether male/female comparable worth wage gaps nay partially be compensating differentials for differences in opportunity for occupational nobility. Finally Section V presents estimates of systems of demand curves for state and local government employees and tests whether within occupational groups male/female substitution occurs as male/female wage rates change and whether substitution occurs across occupations as occupational wages change. These estimates are then used to simulate what the likely effect of a comparable worth wage policy would be on employment of females in the state and local sector.

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study of nickel and nickel-base alloy surface alterations in simulated hot corrosion conditions with emphasis on eventual application to turbine blade corrosion

Research on the high temperature oxidation and Na2SO4 induced hot corrosion of some nickel base superalloys was accomplished by using ESCA to determine the surface composition of the oxidized or corroded samples. Oxidation was carried out at 900 or 1000 C in slowly flowing O2 for samples of B-1900, NASA-TRW VIA, 713C, and IN-738. Oxidation times ranged from 0.5 to 100 hr. Hot corrosion of B-1900 was induced applying a coating of Na2SO4 to peroxidized samples, the heating to 900 C in slowly flowing O2. For oxidized samples, the predominant type of scale formed by each superalloy was determined, and a marked surface enrichment of Ti was found in each case. For corroded samples, the transfer of significant amounts of material from the oxide layer to the surface of the salt layer was observed to occur long before the onset of accelerating weight-gain. Changes in surface composition were observed to coincide with the beginning of accelerating corrosion, the most striking of which was a tenfold decrease in the sulfur to sodium ration and an increase in the Cr(VI) ratio

Estimating Wage-Fringe Trade-Offs: Some Data Problems

Our paper attempts to identify the types of data nee3ed to estimate tradeoffs between wages and fringe benefits (such as pensions); it also explores the usefulness for this estimation of one particular employer- based data set collected by gay Associates. We stress three things: first, that employer-based data sets are required. Second, because pensions and many other fringe benefits are actuarial functions of wages or salaries, these technical relationships must be accounted for in estimation. Third, to take account of unobservable heterogeneity of employees across employers, one must use econometric methods that control for these unobservable variables. The paper concludes with a discussion of our attempts to estimate the tradeoff between wages and fringe benefits using a unique database for 200 establishments that contains information on wages and actuarial valuations of employer costs of fringe benefits at three different job levels.