Do minimum wages raise employment? Evidence from the US retail-trade sector

This paper examines the impact of minimum wages on earnings and employment in selected branches of the retail-trade sector, 1990-2005, using county-level data on employment and a panel regression framework that allows for county-specific trends in sectoral outcomes. We focus on specific subsectors within retail trade that are identified as particularly low-wage. We find little evidence of disemployment effects once we allow for geographic-specific trends. Indeed, in many sectors the evidence points to modest (but robust) positive employment effects. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

English Trade Mark Law in the Eighteenth Century: Blanchard v Hill Revisited - Another 'Case of Monopolies'?

The decision of Lord Hardwicke LC in Blanchard v Hill in 1742 is the earliest reported case on the equitable jurisdiction to grant injunctive relief against trade mark piracy. The ambiguous manner in which the case was reported led to the decision being interpreted as either the basis of equitable jurisdiction or a denial of jurisdiction. This article seeks to establish the background to the case, what actually happened, and the immediate impact of the decision. The scene is set, however, in a parallel symbolic universe – heraldry – because in 1740, the officers of arms were confronted with a trade mark case.

Between the devil and the deep blue sea: Nationality, power and symbolic trade-offs among evangelical Protestants in contemporary Northern Ireland

National identity is symbolically complex configuration, with shifts of emphasis and reprioritisations of content negotiated in contexts of power. This paper shows how they occur in one post-conflict situation - Northern Ireland - among some of the most extreme of national actors - evangelical Protestants. In-depth interviews reveal quite radical shifts in the content of their British identity and in their understanding of and relation to the Irish state, with implications for their future politics. The implications for understanding ethno-religious nationalism, nationality shifts and the future of Northern Ireland are drawn out.

Prevalence of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis in Swiss raw milk cheeses collected at the retail level.

A total of 143 raw milk cheese samples (soft cheese, n = 9; semihard cheese, n = 133; hard cheese, n = 1), collected at the retail level throughout Switzerland, were tested for Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis (MAP) by immunomagnetic capture plus culture on 7H10-PANTA medium and in supplemented BAC-TEC 12B medium, as well as by an F57-based real-time PCR system. Furthermore, pH and water activity values were determined for each sample. Although no viable MAP cells could be cultured, 4.2% of the raw milk cheese samples tested positive with the F57-based real-time PCR system, providing evidence for the presence of MAP in the raw material. As long as the link between MAP and Crohn’s disease in humans remains unclear, measures designed to minimize public exposure should also include a focus on milk products.

The United States and trade disputes in the World Trade Organization: Hegemony constrained or confirmed?

Does the World Trade Organization function to reinforce American dominance (or hegemony) of the world economy? We examine this question via an analysis of trade disputes involving the United States. This allows us to assess whether the US does better than other countries in this judicialised forum: and in so doing enhance the competitive prospects of their firms. The results are equivocal. The United States does best in the early phases of a dispute, where political power is important. It does less well as the process develops.

Individual trade-offs between nutrition and risk of interspecific transmission of disease by grazing: cows, badger latrines and bovine tuberculosis

1. We examine whether various measures of herbivore current physiological state (age, breeding and immune status) and genetic potential can be used as indicators of exposure to and risk from disease. We use dairy cattle and the risks of tuberculosis (TB) transmission posed to them by pasture contaminated with badger excreta (via the fecal-oral route) as a model system to address our aim.

The Diminishing Returns to Trade Policy in the European Union

The notion that the EU is a trade power is central to studies of the Union’s international presence. Credible threats to withhold access to Europe’s markets are said to provide the Union with leverage in respect of other trade partners. This paper queries the continuing ability of the European Union to act effectively this way. The current Doha malaise is a symptom of deeper changes in the international trade system. As emerging markets become more affluent and participate in foreign direct investment, their interest in market access per se become less important relative to other areas of regulation.