Can Denmark’s Flexicurity System Be Replicated In Developing Countries? The Case Of Turkey

Finding a new balance between flexibility and security is a big challenge for all. According to the European Council “Providing the right balance between flexibility and security will support the competitiveness of firms, increase quality and productivity at work and help firms and workers to adapt to economic change”. Denmark provides an interesting combination of high labor market dynamism and relatively high social protection –the so-called flexicurity approach. The Danish model of flexicurity points to a third way between the flexibility often attributed to deregulated Anglo-Saxon countries and strict job protection characterising Southern European countries. In this paper, the Danish case of flexicurity will be analyzed and the answers of these questions will be searched: Can a new balance between flexibility and security solve labor market problems of developing world? Can Denmark’s flexicurity system be replicated in developing countries? Can a new flexicurity system be improved for developing countries?Flexicurity, Labor Market, Developing Countries, Danish Model

Quality Adjusted Cost Functions for Child Care Centers

Using a newly compiled data set, this paper estimates multi- product translog cost functions for 399 child care centers from California, Colorado, Connecticut, and North Carolina. Quality of child care is controlled by a quality index, which has been shown to be positively related to child outcomes by previous research. Nonprofit centers that receive public money, either from the state or federal government, (which is tied to higher standards), have total variable costs that are 18 percent higher than other centers, keeping quality of services constant. No statistically significant differences between general categories of for-profit and non-profit centers are detected. Furthermore, various types of nonprofits are not distinguishable from their for-profit counterparts. In agreement with previous studies, the data show that the average quality of center-based child care is between 'minimal' and 'good', and it costs 13 cents per hour per child to increase this average quality to the level considered developmentally appropriate by child care experts.

The low mass ratio contact binary system V728 Herculis

We present the orbital period study and the photometric analys of the contact binary system V728 Her. Our orbital period analysis shows that the period of the system increases (dP/dt=1.92x10^-7dyr^-1) and the mass transfer rate from the less massive component to more massive one is 2.51x10^-8M_suny^-1. In addition, an advanced sinusoidal variation in period can be attributed to the light-time effect by a tertiary component or the Applegate mechanism triggered by the secondary component. The simultaneous multicolor BVR light and radial velocity curves solution indicates that the physical parameters of the system are M1=1.8M_sun, M2=0.28M_sun, R1=1.87R_sun, R2=0.82R_sun, L1=5.9L_sun, and L2=1.2L_sun. We discuss the evolutionary status and conclude that V728 Her is a deep (f=81%), low mass ratio (q=0.16) contact binary system.Comment: 21 pages, 4 figures, 4 table

Joblessness and Perceptions about the Effectiveness of Democracy

Using micro data on more than 130,000 individuals from 69 countries, we analyze the extent to which joblessness of the individuals and the prevailing unemployment rate in the country impact perceptions of the effectiveness of democracy. We find that personal joblessness experience translates into negative opinions about the effectiveness of democracy and it increases the desire for a rouge leader. Evidence from people who live in European countries suggests that being jobless for more than a year is the source of discontent. We also find that well-educated and wealthier individuals are less likely to indicate that democracies are ineffective, regardless of joblessness. People's beliefs about the effectiveness of democracy as system of governance are also shaped by the unemployment rate in countries with low levels of democracy. The results suggest that periods of high unemployment and joblessness could hinder the development of democracy or threaten its existence.unemployment duration, democracy, education, development, World Values Survey

Who Shall Live and Who Shall Die? An Analysis of Prisoners on Death Row in the United States

Using data on the entire population of prisoners under a sentence of death in the U.S. between 1977 and 1997, this paper investigates the probability of being executed on death row in any given year, as well as the probability of commutation when reaching the end of death row. The analyses control for personal characteristics and previous criminal record of the death row inmates. We link the data on death row inmates to a number of characteristics of the state of incarceration, including variables which allow us to assess the degree to which the political process enters into the final outcome in a death penalty case. Inmates with only a grade school diploma are more likely to receive clemency, and those with some college attendance are less likely to have their sentence commuted. Blacks and other minorities are less likely to get executed in comparison to white inmates. Female death row inmates and older inmates are also less likely to get executed. If an inmate's spell on death row ends at a point in time where the governor is a lame duck, the probability of commutation is higher in comparison to a similar inmate whose decision is made by a governor who is not a lame duck. If the governor is female, she is more likely to spare the inmate's life; and if the governor is white, the likelihood of dying is higher in comparison to the case where the decision is made by a minority governor.

Evolutionary Dynamics of Globalization

The expansion of markets –globalization– was reversed during early 20th century and unfettered markets gave in to the welfare state and central planning. But the markets have been striking back since the early 1980s. Governments are withdrawn from economic activities, and many structural market reforms are implemented. Now the question is: Can the forces that market expansion create again reverse this expansion? This paper seeks an answer to this question by constructing an evolutionary game theoretical framework in which market and “egalitarian” societies appear as evolutionarily stable states and shows that catastrophic events such as the Great Depression can indeed cause switch over between evolutionarily stable states.globalization, evolutionary game theory, evolutionarily stable states, behavioural strategies

The Determinants of the Willingness to be an Organ Donor

The total value of life lost due to death because of waiting for an organ transplant is greater than $4 billion annually in the United States, and the excess demand for organs has been increasing over time. To shed light on the factors that impact the willingness to donate an organ, we analyze data from the United States and the European Union. The rate of willingness to donate an organ is 38 % among young adults in the U.S., and it is 42 % in Europe. Interesting similarities emerge between the U.S. and Europe regarding the impact of gender, political views and education on the willingness to donate. In the U.S. Blacks, Hispanics and Catholics are less likely to donate. In Europe, individuals who reveal that they are familiar with the rules and regulations governing the donation and transplantation of human organs are more likely to donate. In both data sets individuals who had some encounter with the health care sector %u2013either through a recent emergency room visit (in the U.S.), or perhaps because of a long-standing illness (in the E.U), are more likely to become organ donors. Mother%u2019s education has a separate positive impact.