Public Sector Pay in Finland

This study analyses the forces determining public and private sector pay in Finland. The data used is a 7 per cent sample taken from the Finnish 2001 census. It contains information on 42 680 male workers, of which 8 759 are employed in public and 33 921 in the private sector. The study documents and describes data by education, occupation and industry. We estimate earnings equations for the whole sample as well as for four industries (construction, real estate, transportation and health) that provide an adequate mix of both public and sector workers. The results suggest that the private-public sector pay gap of about one per cent can be accounted for by differences in observable characteristics between the sectors (3.4 per cent) and lower returns from these characteristics (-2.3 per cent). However, the industry-level analysis indicates that the earnings gaps vary across industries, and are negative in some cases. These inter-industry differences in public-private gaps persist even when the usual controls are introduced. This suggests that public sector wage setters need greater local flexibility, which should result in less uniform wages within the public sector.

Memòria justificativa del treball realitzat durant l’estada al departament de Women`s Studies (Universitat de Wisconsin-Madison )

Projecte de recerca elaborat a partir d’una estada al departament de Women’s Studies de la Universitat de Wisconsin, Estats Units, entre agost i novembre del 2007. Aquesta recerca està directament relacionada amb el desenvolupament d’una tesi doctoral sobre la socialització de les dones víctimes de violència de gènere. En el transcurs d’aquesta estada es van analitzar investigacions de qualitat científica sobre socialització de les dones víctimes de violència de gènere realitzades als Estats Units; es va participar en jornades, seminaris i conferències sobre violència de gènere; i es van recollir recursos i mesures, proposats per diferents moviments socials, per atendre a les víctimes i prevenir la violència de gènere. Entre els resultats obtinguts de la recerca cal destacar que les investigacions més recents sobre violència de gènere coincideixen en afirmar que es tracta d’una problemàtica vinculada als nostres aprenentatges socials. Trobem un gran nombre de recerques que han treballat sobre les causes per les quals les dones romanen en relacions de violència o reincideixen. Generalment aquestes son causes estructurals (factors econòmics, fills o filles en comú, falta de recolzament social, etc.), o bé emocionals (el fet d’estar enamorades). Aquestes recerques mostren un buit, el qual serà treballat en una tesi doctoral, un cop superades les barreres estructurals quins son els motius que dificulten la finalització de la relació de violència? Quins aspectes hem de treballar per trencar els vincles afectius i l’enamorament?

Life-Cycle, Effort and Academic Inactivity

It has been observed that university professors sometimes become less research active in their later years. This paper models the decision to become inactive as a utility maximising problem under conditions of uncertainty and derives an age-dependent activity condition for the level of research productivity. The model implies that professors who are close to retirement age are more likely to become inactive when faced with setbacks in their research while those who continue research do not lower their activity levels. Using data from the University of Iceland, we find support for the model’s predictions. The model suggests that universities should induce their older faculty to remain research active by striving to make their research more productive and enjoyable, maintaining peer pressure, reducing job security and offering higher performance related pay.

Who is the fairest of them all? The independent effect of attractive features and self-perceived attractiveness on cooperation among women

The present paper analyzes the extent to which attractiveness-related variables affect cooperative behavior in women. Cooperativeness is evaluated through a Prisoner's Dilemma Game (PDG). We consider several morphometric variables related to attractiveness: Fluctuating Asymmetry (FA), Waist-Hip Ratio (WHR, Body Mass Index (BMI) and Facial Femininity (FF). These variables have been shown to predict human behavior. We also include as a control variable a score for Self-Perceived Attractiveness (SPA). We test differences in these variables according to behavior in the PDG. Our results reveal that low FA women cooperate less frequently in the PDG. We also find that women with lower WHR are more cooperative. This result contradicts the expected relation between WHR and behavior in the PDG. We show that this effect of WHR on cooperation operates through its influence on the expectation that participants hold on the cooperative intent of their counterpart. In addition, we show that the effect of attractive features on cooperation occurs independently of the participants' perception of their own appeal. Finally, we discuss our results in the context of the evolution of cooperative behavior and under the hypothesis that attractiveness is a reliable indicator of phenotypic quality.

Validity of impedance-based equations for the prediction of total body water as measured by deuterium dilution in African women.

BACKGROUND: Little information is available on the validity of simple and indirect body-composition methods in non-Western populations. Equations for predicting body composition are population-specific, and body composition differs between blacks and whites. OBJECTIVE: We tested the hypothesis that the validity of equations for predicting total body water (TBW) from bioelectrical impedance analysis measurements is likely to depend on the racial background of the group from which the equations were derived. DESIGN: The hypothesis was tested by comparing, in 36 African women, TBW values measured by deuterium dilution with those predicted by 23 equations developed in white, African American, or African subjects. These cross-validations in our African sample were also compared, whenever possible, with results from other studies in black subjects. RESULTS: Errors in predicting TBW showed acceptable values (1.3-1.9 kg) in all cases, whereas a large range of bias (0.2-6.1 kg) was observed independently of the ethnic origin of the sample from which the equations were derived. Three equations (2 from whites and 1 from blacks) showed nonsignificant bias and could be used in Africans. In all other cases, we observed either an overestimation or underestimation of TBW with variable bias values, regardless of racial background, yielding no clear trend for validity as a function of ethnic origin. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this cross-validation study emphasize the need for further fundamental research to explore the causes of the poor validity of TBW prediction equations across populations rather than the need to develop new prediction equations for use in Africa.

Women at home, at school and in the factory. The particular discourse of domesticity done by the Spanish Escuela Economista (1861-1909)

The texts by the Spanish Economist School (second half of the 19th century) contain an assessment of the role of women in the economy and society that is transgressor in front of the prevailing discourse that defended a unique and exclusive role for all women: being at home and a mother. Most members of that economic trend defended female work in the factories, basing themselves on wage arguments and even asked for a professional training for those who in many cases could not even write and read for the fact of being a woman. The texts of those economists give new ideas about the economic and social role of women in a Spain dominated by a discourse that denied the necessity of female work for the working families.

Selection bias and unobservable heterogeneity applied at the wage equation of European married women

This paper utilizes a panel data sample selection model to correct the selection in the analysis of longitudinal labor market data for married women in European countries. We estimate the female wage equation in a framework of unbalanced panel data models with sample selection. The wage equations of females have several potential sources of.

Chlamydia-related bacteria in respiratory samples in Finland.

Chlamydia-related bacteria, new members of the order Chlamydiales, are suggested to be associated with respiratory disease. We used real-time PCR to investigate the prevalence of Parachlamydia acanthamoebae, Protochlamydia spp., Rhabdochlamydia spp., Simkania negevensis and Waddlia chondrophila in samples taken from patients with suspected respiratory tract infections. Of the 531 samples analyzed, the subset of 136 samples contained 16 (11.8%) samples positive for Rhabdochlamydia spp. DNA. P. acanthamoebae, Protochlamydia spp., S. negevensis and W. chondrophila DNA were not detected among the respiratory samples investigated. These results suggest an association of Rhabdochlamydia spp. with respiratory disease.

Start-up conditions and the performance of women – and men- controlled businesses in manufacturating industries

Recent research on the economic performance of women-controlled firms suggests that their underperformance may not result from differences in the managerial ability of women as compared to men, but it can be the result of different levels of start-up resources. Using accounting data, this paper examines the effects that selected start-up conditions have on the economic performance observed in a sample of 4450 Spanish manufacturing firms. The results indicate significant differences regarding the initial conditions, showing lower levels of assets and number of employees what have implications on the economic performance of women-controlled firms.

Clinical follow-up of women infected with human papillomavirus-16, either alone or with other human papillomavirus types: identification of different risk groups.

OBJECTIVES: Evaluation of the clinical impact of multiple infections of the cervix by human papillomavirus, including human papillomavirus-16, compared with single human papillomavirus-16 infection. STUDY DESIGN: One hundred sixty-nine women were classified in 3 categories depending on their human papillomavirus profile: human papillomavirus-16 only, human papillomavirus-16 and low-risk type(s), and human papillomavirus-16 and other high-risk type(s). Cervical brush samples were analyzed for human papillomavirus DNA by polymerase chain reaction and reverse line blot hybridization. All women were evaluated with colposcopy during 24 months or more. Management was according to the Bethesda recommendations. RESULTS: Women infected with human papillomavirus-16 and other high-risk human papillomavirus type(s) presented more progression or no change in the grade of dysplasia, compared with women of the other groups (relative risk [RR], 1.39; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.07-1.82; P = .02 at 6 months; RR, 2.10; 95% CI, 1.46-3.02; P < .001 at 12 months; RR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.21-2.72; P = .004 at 24 months). CONCLUSION: Coinfection of women with human papillomavirus-16 and other high-risk human papillomavirus type(s) increases the risk of unfavorable evolution.