Labour market institutions and the gender wage gap in Britain and Australia, 1973-90

The importance of wage structure is frequently interpreted as indirect evidence of the role played by labour market institutions. The current paper follows in this tradition, examining the role of wage structure in explaining the trend in the gender wage gap over the period 1973–91 for both Australia and the UK. The focus is upon whether changes in wage structure (and associated gender wage gap) both across country and over time are compatible with institutional explanations. Combining comparisons both cross‐country and over time yields a more stringent, albeit indirect, test of the role of institutions.

Online banking vs. bricks & mortar - or a hybrid model? A preliminary investigation of Australian and Indian banks

Deregulation, innovations in mobile and wireless technologies and media convergence, together with the rapid diffusion of the Internet, have opened up strategic business opportunities in the financial sector. With deregulation removing entry barriers, an increasing number of online banks are threatening the market share of ‘bricks and mortar’ banks. To survive this competition, and to leverage the new opportunities of online and mobile banking facilitated by the Internet, many banks have adapted a hybrid, ‘clicks and mortar’ model, to increase their profitability while reducing transaction costs. In this paper, we report the results of a preliminary analysis based on a few major banks in Australia and India, two diverse economies, to reveal some interesting insights.

Institutions and policies for growth and poverty reduction: the role of private sector development

This paper goes over some of the recent discussions on the effects on growth and poverty of institutions and policies, especially those that relate to the functioning of the private sector. It examines the empirical relationship between various measures of institutional quality and regulatory policies, and economic growth and poverty. The results suggest that good governance, as measured by a strong commitment to the rule of law, among other things, matters for poverty reduction largely through its effect on economic growth. In terms of business regulations, the paper finds that less restrictive regulations pertaining to starting a business are associated with higher economic growth as well as lower rates of $2-a-day poverty. Political freedom is not associated with either higher growth or lower poverty. Taken together, the evidence here seems to suggest that the delivery of good governance and policies that facilitate the creation of new enterprises are more relevant for growth and poverty reduction than the nature of the political system per se.

Cadaveric vs. live-donor kidney transplants : theoretical foundations of interaction between institutions and inequality

In 1991, the World Health Assembly approved a set of Guiding Principles which emphasize voluntary donation, non-commercialization and a preference for cadavers over living donors” (World Health Organization). The objective of this paper is to identify the factors that affect the ratio of cadaveric transplants to all transplants. This paper first provides informational background on problems surrounding kidney transplants and then uses a theoretical framework which employs standard economic assumptions but incorporates a setup where the persons needing kidneys can obtain it from their compatible relatives or purchase it from individuals who are willing to sell one of their kidneys. The methods of economic theoretical analyses are used where following definitions and assumptions some conclusions are drawn. This paper finds that factors such as inequality, rule of law and religion have significant effect on the ratio of cadaveric transplants to all transplants. The paper concludes that improvement in equality and in rule of law will increase the use of cadaveric kidney transplants. In addition, fighting religious beliefs against cadaveric kidney transplants too will lead to a higher ratio of cadaveric transplants to all transplants.

Social capital, educational institutions and leadership

Social capital refers to the norms and networks that enable people to act collectively. It is a set of resources that reside in the relationships among people that allow them to share their knowledge and skills. Social capital is built and accessed through interactions between people and groups. Educational institutions and their community benefit from building social capital. Educational leaders who are committed to lifelong learning and view the community as a resource for the institution have a key role in unlocking and building social capital. Social capital is developed through a partnership process with common purpose or vision where leadership is gradually shared between institution and community.

Institutions and growth volatility

Recently some studies provided evidence that democratic political institutions generate less volatile growth. These studies, however, do not provide any link between democracy and investment volatility. Here, we focus on the specific channel that links individualistic societies and low growth volatility. We test whether investment volatility and consequently growth volatility are lower in individualistic societies. We construct a two-equation system of investment and income growth volatility, allowing various measures of individualism to influence growth volatility both directly and indirectly. We find that individualism significantly directly and indirectly influences growth volatility negatively.

Book review : The making of the European Union : foundations, institutions and future trends

Whilst there are many books on the European Union (EU), this recently published book by four scholars is a comprehensive and important addition to the research on Europe. As the title of the book suggests, the EU is impacted by historical events and is shaped by future trends. The authors of this book include eight chapters on the EU that range from an analysis of the EU's development from a free trading area to having a common currency to how the EU is changing in terms of diversity and consumer trends. The book contains the most recent figures that are available on the EU and these figures are presented in useful tables to explain developments in the EU. This book stands out from the existing books on the EU by combining a cultural and historical analysis together with current discourse on the EU. The book is easy to read and is very suitable for both scholars, public policy practitioners and general readers who want a holistic book that incorporates a diverse range of topics on the EU.