Equilibrium unemployment and investment under product and labour market imperfections

The study looks at the implications of product market competition and investment for price setting, wage bargaining and thereby for equilibrium unemployment in an economy with product and labour market imperfections. We show that intensified product market competition will reduce equilibrium unemployment, whereas the effect of increased capital intensity is more complex. Higher capital intensity will decrease the equilibrium unemployment when the elasticity of substitution between capital and labour is less than one, while the reverse happens when this elasticity is higher than one, but smaller than the elasticity of substitution between products. Finally, we demonstrate how labour and product market imperfections, characterised by the wage and price setting mark-ups, affect the optimal capital stock. Our findings raise important questions for future empirical research.equilibrium unemployment; product market imperfections; investment; wage bargaining

Equilibrium Unemployment and Capital Intensity Under Product and Labor Market Imperfections

We study the implications of product and labor market imperfections for equilibrium unemployment under both exogenous and endogenous capital intensity. With endogenous capital intensity, stronger labor market imperfections always increase equilibrium unemployment. The relationship between the long-run unemployment and the intensity of product market competition is not necessarily monotonic, but there is an elasticity of substitution between capital and labor below one such that the long-run equilibrium unemployment is an increasing function of product market imperfections when the elasticity exceeds this threshold. Higher interest rates increase (decrease) the long-run equilibrium unemployment when the elasticity of substitution is below (above) one.equilibrium unemployment, product market imperfections, capital intensity, wage bargaining

Customer satisfaction and loyalty in after sales service : modes of care in telecommunications systems delivery

The study was to gain improved understanding of the forces and factors present in after-sales activities, and the role of these in enhancing or endangering business. The objective was to gain a better understanding of how a supplier could successfully manage its "customer care" activities in the dynamic mobile telecommunications market. After sales business activities in this industry have received little systematic research attention. The study described herein focuses on after sales aspects of business-to-business activities in the mobile telecommunications industry, with the emphasis on sectors that provide service. The method of study primarily relied on the case study approach. Some aspects of qualitative and action research methods were integrated into the formal study process. The study consisted of study and analysis of five in-depth cases. Qualitative and quantitative information and data were collected from each of the persons interviewed in the supplier and customer organisations. The term, "care" is used extensively in the study as a doorway into the world of after sales activities as well as an organising construct for interpreting what was found. The concept of care includes activities related to maintenance and preventive maintenance. It additionally includes services that can link back to help enhance pre-existing capabilities for delivery of products or systems. Processes and measures of customer satisfaction and loyalty provide two critical aspects of the study. The importance of the concept of care and the actions that define it were found to be critically important for a customer's total satisfaction. The importance of the care phase in the total customer process was found to increase as the customer relationship matures. Different services offer different characteristics and challenges, while for many customers, their satisfaction-loyalty relationship with a provider tends to be non-linear. The relation between customer needs, satisfaction, and loyalty, and how these ultimately relate to a providing firm's profitability, were seen to be linked in complex ways. The complexity can be studied in many ways but herein the customer satisfaction-loyalty of each service event was first evaluated separately. Customer satisfaction and loyalty were then related to each other in order to compare the separate and combined characteristics. This provided the reference basis for analysing and forecasting how a customer's behaviour might change relative to their level of satisfaction. While the determinants from these evaluations present evident limitations, they were additionally found to provide a basis for better mapping the more systemic interactions between the many possible kinds of behaviours and levels of satisfaction. The study presents information as to how communication between the supplier and its customers was organised. Based on this, it was hypothesised that, as the relationship between the supplier and customer matures, the interactions become more specialised around specific activities. Managers, on the other hand, were seen to give ever-greater emphasis, in terms of their perceptions, to their arena of activities. For example, the service manager and project manager emphasised certain specific parts of a total project while an account manager would tend to emphasise those aspects most closely related to contact-based relationships. This was seen to allow emphasis on service to be given in terms of modern functional management systems instead of the dynamic reality of the situation. This was seen to present significant challenges to an integration of different perceptions of different yet related functions. This was identified as an area of focus for providing more complete and consistent customer care. This led to the creation of a new conception of the nature of the service manager, which could be extended to the entire supplier company. This work, carried out to implement this idea, illustrates that there is a great, unrealised potential, particularly in the creation of a viable model of after sales customer care able to accommodate the complexity of contemporary business development.reviewe

Persistence of chronic cough in a community-based population

Chronic cough causes significant impairment in the quality of life and is often immune to treatment. Previous studies about its persistence have focused on patients managed in special cough clinics. Little is known about the persistence of chronic cough in unselected populations. In this prospective follow-up study, we investigated factors that predict the persistence of cough at 12-month follow-up in a community-based study of subjects with chronic cough. The first e-mail survey in 2017 included a questionnaire about current cough and its risk factors. The 264 subjects who reported chronic cough were sent a follow-up questionnaire 12 months later. The response rate was 77.7% (205 subjects), of whom 165 subjects (80.5%) still had cough in 2018. In multivariate analysis, the following baseline factors predicted the persistence of cough at 12 months; gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (adjusted OR (aOR) 5.02 (95% CI 1.10-22.83)), presence of a chemical trigger (aOR 2.88 (95% CI (1.20-7.00)), duration of cough more than 1 year (aOR 2.80 (95% CI 1.27-6.22)), frequent somatic symptoms (aOR 1.31 (95% CI 1.07-1.59)), and low number of family members (aOR 0.71 (95% CI 0.52-0.98)). In conclusion, most patients with chronic cough still suffer from cough 1 year later. The presence of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease is the main predictor for the persistence of cough.Peer reviewe

Subfreezing air as a cough trigger and multiple triggers are strongly associated with the presence of asthma in chronic cough

Background: Management of chronic cough relies on the recognition of cough background disorders. It is not known whether certain cough triggers are associated with specific background disorders. Methods: This was an e-mail study to public service employees of two towns in Finland. The questionnaire included twelve triggers. Current asthma was defined as doctor's diagnosis of asthma and current wheezing. Chronic rhinosinusitis was defined as either nasal blockage or nasal discharge and either facial pain/pressure or reduction/loss of smell for more than three months. Gastroesophageal reflux disease was defined as heartburn and/or regurgitation on at least one day a week during the last three months. Idiopathic cough was defined as absence of any of them. Results: There were 421 subjects with current cough that had lasted at least eight weeks. Subfreezing air as a cough trigger was associated with an adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of 7.27 (4.09-12.9), (p <0.001), for current asthma. The number of cough triggers was largest in asthma, followed by chronic rhinosinusitis, gastro-esophageal reflux, and idiopathic cough (7.05 (6.14-7.96), 4.94 (4.35-5.54), 4.60 (3.77-5.43), and 3.44 (3.02-3.86), respectively, p <0.001). Presence of five or more triggers was associated with an aOR of 7.49 (3.96-14.2), (p <0.001) for current asthma. Absence of any cough triggers increased the probability of idiopathic cough (aOR 2.71 (1.54-4.77), p= 0.001). Conclusions: Subfreezing air as a cough trigger and multiple triggers are strongly associated with the presence of current asthma in chronic cough. Absence of any cough triggers increases the probability of idiopathic cough.Peer reviewe

Defining the risk factors for acute, subacute and chronic cough: a cross-sectional study in a Finnish adult employee population

Objectives Chronic cough is linked to various long-standing risk factors like asthma, chronic rhinitis and oesophageal reflux disease. On the contrary, acute and subacute cough are usually considered to be caused by acute respiratory infections. Little is known about the possible long-standing risk factors for acute and subacute cough. In this study, we have identified the long-standing risk factors for acute, subacute and chronic cough in order to identify the risk factors specifically associated with chronic cough.Design A comprehensive 80-item questionnaire was sent via email to the participants.Setting A community-based study to all public service employees of two towns in central Finland.Participants There were 13 980 employees, of them 3697 responded (26.4%). Among the responders, there were 199 subjects with current daily acute cough (duration &lt;3 weeks, prevalence 5.4%), 126 subjects with current daily subacute cough (duration 3–8 weeks, prevalence 3.4%) and 267 subjects with current daily chronic cough (duration &gt;8 weeks, prevalence 7.2%).Primary outcome measures The risk factors that associated with each cough subtype. The subjects without any cough formed the reference group.Results Several risk factors were associated with both short and long cough subtypes namely family history of chronic cough, moisture damage exposure and number of reported somatic symptoms. Furthermore, allergy was associated with acute and subacute cough. Current asthma and chronic rhinitis were associated with subacute and chronic cough. Oesophageal reflux disease and advanced age were associated with chronic cough.Conclusions The specific risk factors for chronic cough were oesophageal reflux disease and advanced age. Acute and subacute cough should not be regarded merely as symptoms of acute respiratory infections but possible manifestations of long-standing risk factors. A new risk factor for all cough types was family history of chronic cough.Peer reviewe

Equilibrium Unemployment and Investment Under Product and Labour Market Imperfections

We study the implications of product market competition and investment for price setting, wage bargaining and thereby for equilibrium unemployment in an economy with product and labour market imperfections. We show that intensified product market competition will reduce equilibrium unemployment, whereas the effect of increased capital intensity is more complex. Higher capital intensity will decrease the equilibrium unemployment when the elasticity of substitution between capital and labour is less than one, while the reverse happens when this elasticity is higher than one but smaller than the elasticity of substitution between products. Finally, we demonstrate how labour and product market imperfections, characterized by the wage and price setting mark-ups, affect the optimal capital stock. Our findings raise important questions for future empirical research