Friday, January 29, 2010
Tweet[IWS] BLS: MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW, Jan. 2010, Vol. 133, No. 1 [29 January 2010]
IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
Monthly Labor Review Online [29 January 2010]
January 2010
Vol. 133, Number 1
or
http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2010/01/mlr201001.pdf
[full-text, 138 pages]
State labor legislation enacted in 2009
John J. Fitzpatrick, Jr., James L. Perine, and Bridget Dutton
http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2010/01/art1full.pdf
[full-text, 34 pages]
Drug and alcohol testing, equal employment opportunity,
human traffi cking, immigration protections, independent
contractors, the minimum wage, prevailing wages, wages paid,
and worker privacy were among the most active areas
in which State legislatures either enacted or revised
legislation during the year
Changes in Federal and State unemployment insurance legislation in 2009
Loryn Lancaster
http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2010/01/art2full.pdf
Crash and reboot: Silicon Valley high-tech employment and wages, 2000–08
Amar Mann and Tian Luo
http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2010/01/art3full.pdf
[full-text, 15 pages]
On the whole, high-tech industries in Silicon Valley declined
sharply in employment and wages from 2000 to 2004 but increased
gradually in both respects from 2004 to 2008; though the industry
mix changed during the 8-year period, Silicon Valley remains
the world ’s leading high-tech hub
Report
Union membership attrition
Gary Chaison
http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2010/01/art4full.pdf
[full-text, 3 pages]
________________________________________________________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
****************************************
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
[IWS] STATE-by-STATE ECONOMIC SNAPSHOTS [26 January 2010]
IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
U.S. Congress, Joint Economic Committe
Understanding the Economy: State-by-State Snapshots [26 January 2010]
http://jec.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Reports.Reports&ContentRecord_id=6ca6b81a-5056-8059-764f-f688fe8945b4
The Joint Economic Committee released a report entitled “Understanding the Economy: State-by-State Snapshots,” (Part 2) which provides easy access to the major economic indicators in all 50 states and the District of Columbia in the areas of jobs, unemployment, personal earnings and housing.
Key economic statistics for each state include:
• Jobs created or lost since the start of the recession;
• Jobs saved or created by the Recovery Act;
• Unemployment rates;
• Per capita earnings; and,
• The condition of the housing sector.
To view your state's snapshot report, click on the below links:
• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• California
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• District of Columbia
• Florida
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Washington
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming
________________________________________________________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
****************************************
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
[IWS] IADB (Latin America): WORKING PAPERS - Recent publications as of 29 January 2010
IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
Inter-American Development Bank (IADB)
WORKING PAPERS
http://www.iadb.org/publications/search.cfm?docType=Working%20Papers
Recent Publications
Productive Development Policies in Trinidad and Tobago: A Critical Review
Moya, Ramiro; Mohammed, Anne-Marie; Sookram, Sandra
Date : Jan, 2010
http://idbdocs.iadb.org/wsdocs/getdocument.aspx?docnum=35049209
[full-text, 77 pages]
Even as Trinidad and Tobago seeks productive diversification away from the energy sector, the process underlying the country’s productive development policies (PDP) is in a state of transition from state-directed industrial policy to a newer approach with extensive private-public participation. This study explores the main characteristics of four PDPs in Trinidad and Tobago and reviews them following the related literature (e. g. , Rodríguez-Clare, 2005a and 2005b, and Melo and Rodríguez-Clare, 2006). The four PDPs are: a) The process towards the Promotion of Clusters; b) the PDPs for the Tourism industry; c) the classical PDPs for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and; d) the Free Trade Zone as a policy designed to compensate for the failure of the State.
Politics, Policies and the Dynamics of Aggregate Productivity in Colombia
Eslava, Marcela; Melendez, Marcela
Date : Dec, 2009
http://idbdocs.iadb.org/wsdocs/getdocument.aspx?docnum=2189850
[full-text, 55 pages]
This paper describes private actors’ involvement in Colombia’s policymaking process. While more transparent and formal channels are used to discuss horizontal policies, they are also less effective. The adoption of targeted policies, however, follows a faster track and depends more on political power than on those policies’ potential as engines for productivity growth. Data on policies and political characteristics across sector-region units are used to further characterize the different groups’ weight in policymaking, and the effect of the implied unbalance on aggregate productivity. Electoral weight and being represented by business groups and associations are found to be important determinants of the policy benefits received by a sector in a region, especially when activities are located in regions affected by armed conflict. It is also found that the resulting imbalance of policies damages aggregate productivity.
Financial Dependence, Formal Credit and Informal Jobs
New Evidence from Brazilian Household Data
Catao, Luis; Pages, Carmen; Rosales, Maria Fernanda
Date : Dec, 2009
http://idbdocs.iadb.org/wsdocs/getdocument.aspx?docnum=35003625
[full-text, 42 pages]
This paper examines a much overlooked link between credit markets and formalization: since access to bank credit typically requires compliance with tax and employment legislation, firms are more likely to incur such formalization costs once bank credit is more widely available at lower cost. The relevance of this credit channel is gauged using the Rajan-Zingales measure of financial dependence and a difference-in-differences approach applied to household survey data from Brazil. It is found that formalization rates increase with financial deepening, especially in sectors where firms are typically more dependent on external finance. Also found is that, decomposing shifts in formalization rates into those within each firm size category and those between firm sizes, financial deepening significantly explains the former but not so much the latter. Some key policy implications are derived.
New Century, Old Disparities: Gender and Ethnic Wage Gaps in Latin America
Atal, Juan Pablo; Nopo, Hugo; Winder, Natalia
Date : Dec, 2009
http://idbdocs.iadb.org/wsdocs/getdocument.aspx?docnum=2230955
[full-text, 76 pages]
This paper surveys gender and ethnic wage gaps in 18 Latin American countries, decomposing differences using matching comparisons as a non-parametric alternative to the Blinder-Oaxaca (BO) decomposition. It is found that men earn 9-27 percent more than women, with high cross-country heterogeneity. The unexplained pay gap is higher among older, informal and self-employed workers and those in small firms. Ethnic wage differences are greater than gender differences, and educational attainment differentials play an important role in explaining the gap. Higher ethnic wage gaps are found among males, singleincome generators of households and full-time workers, and in rural areas. An important share of the ethnic wage gap is due to the scarcity of minorities in highpaid positions.
Political Institutions and Street Protests in Latin America
Machado, Fabiana; Scartascini, Carlos; Tommasi, Mariano
Date : Dec, 2009
http://idbdocs.iadb.org/wsdocs/getdocument.aspx?docnum=35004678
[full-text, 41 pages]
This paper argues that where institutions are strong, actors are more likely to participate in the political process through institutionalized arenas, while where they are weak, protests and other unconventional means of participation become more appealing. This relationship is explored empirically by combining country-level measures of institutional strength with individual-level information on protest participation in 17 Latin American countries. Evidence is found that weaker political institutions are associated with a higher propensity to use alternative means for expressing preferences, that is, to protest. Also found are interesting interactions between country-level institutional strength and some individual-level determinants of participation in protests.
AND MUCH MORE…..
________________________________________________________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
****************************************
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
[IWS] Hewitt: TOP COMPANIES FOR LEADERS 2009 [November 2009]
IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
Hewitt
TOP COMPANIES FOR LEADERS 2009 [November 2009]
Research Highlights
[full-text, 20 pages]
About the Research
Initiated by Hewitt Associates, the Top Companies for Leaders Study is the most comprehensive longitudinal study of talent management and leadership practices around the globe. Our first results, published in 2002, uncovered a link between financial success and great leadership practices, and identified differentiating elements found only in Top Companies. We conducted the study again in 2003, 2005, and 2007, and this research provided the foundation for our more comprehensive 2009 global study. Over 500 companies participated, each completing a detailed questionnaire. From those submissions, finalists were identified and hundreds of interviews were conducted with senior executives. From these inputs, we are able to compare the talent management practices of the best companies around the globe on literally hundreds of data points. In our analysis, we found the gaps between the Top Companies and all others are often quite dramatic. Hewitt conducted the 2007 and 2009 Top Companies for Leaders Study in partnership with Fortune and The RBL Group.
________________________________________________________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
****************************************
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
[IWS] CRS: THE U.S. POSTAL SERVICE'S FINANCIAL CONDITION: OVERVIEW & ISSUES FOR CONGRESS [19 January 2010]
IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
Congressional Research Service (CRS)
The U.S. Postal Service’s Financial Condition: Overview and Issues for Congress
Kevin R. Kosar. Analyst in American National Government
January 19, 2010
http://www.opencrs.com/document/R41024/2010-01-19/download/1013/
[full-text, 14 pages]
Summary
This report provides an overview of the U.S. Postal Service’s (USPS’s) financial condition, recent
legislation to alleviate the USPS’s financial challenges, and possible issues for the 111th Congress.
Since 1971, the USPS has been a self-supporting government agency that covers its operating
costs with revenues generated through the sales of postage and related products and services.
Recently, the USPS has experienced significant financial challenges. After running modest profits
from FY2004 through FY2006, the USPS lost $5.3 billion in FY2007 and $2.8 billion in FY2008.
In May 2009, the USPS warned that it might experience a cash shortage at the end of September
2009. Two months later, the Government Accountability Office added the USPS’s financial
condition “to the list of high-risk areas needing attention by the Congress and the executive
branch.”
On September 30, 2009, Congress enacted H.R. 2918, the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act
[of] 2010. President Barack H. Obama signed the bill into law (P.L. 111-68) the next day. Section
164 of the law alleviated the USPS’s cash shortage by reducing the USPS’s statutorily required
September 30, 2009, payment to the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund from $5.4
billion to $1.4 billion. (The USPS must repay the $4 billion deferred obligation after FY2016.)
While Congress alleviated the USPS’s FY2009 cash shortage, it is unclear what the future holds
for the USPS’s finances. Even with this assistance, the USPS had an FY2009 operating loss of
$3.8 billion. As the USPS’s finances have deteriorated, its ability to absorb operating losses has
been diminished. Between FY2005 and FY2009, the USPS’s debt rose from $0 to $10.2 billion.
(The agency’s statutory debt limit is $15 billion.) The USPS has predicted operating deficits in
FY2010, and its auditor has stated that there is “significant uncertainty” as to whether the USPS
will have the cash required to make its FY2010 payment to its Retiree Health Benefits Fund.
A number of ideas for incremental reforms have been put forth that would improve the USPS’s
financial condition in the short-term so that it might continue as a self-funding government
agency, all of which would require Congress to amend current postal law. The ideas include (1)
increasing the USPS’s revenues by altering postage rates and increasing its offering of nonpostal
rates and services; and (2) reducing the USPS’s expenses by a number of means, such as
recalculating the USPS’s retiree health care obligation and payments, closing postal facilities, and
reducing mail delivery from six to five days.
This report will be updated to reflect significant developments.
Contents
Background ...............................................................................................................................1
The USPS’s Financial Difficulties, FY2006-FY2009...................................................................1
Flattening Then Declining Revenues .....................................................................................1
Growing Expenses ................................................................................................................3
Congress Acts to Alleviate the USPS’s Immediate Financial Distress.....................................5
Issues for Congress .....................................................................................................................6
Increasing Revenues .............................................................................................................7
Altering Postage Rates ....................................................................................................7
Offering More Nonpostal Products and Services .............................................................7
Reducing Costs .....................................................................................................................7
Reducing the USPS’s PSRHBF Obligation and Payments ...............................................7
Reducing the USPS’s Contributions Toward Employee Health Premiums and Life Insurance ........................8
Reducing the USPS’s Retail and Nonretail Facilities .......................................................9
Reducing Mail Delivery from Six to Five Days Per Week..............................................10
Increasing the USPS’s Powers to Control Labor Costs...................................................10
Figures
Figure 1. The USPS’s Mail Volume, FY2004-FY2009.................................................................2
Figure 2. The USPS’s Operating Revenues, FY2004-FY2009......................................................3
Figure 3. The USPS’s Operating Revenues and Expenses, FY2004-FY2009................................4
Figure 4. The USPS’s Operating Income Without the Annual PAEA Payments to the
Postal Service Health Benefits Fund, FY2004-FY2009.............................................................5
Figure 5. U.S. Postal Service Retail and Non-Retail Facilities, FY2007-FY2009 .........................9
Tables
Table 1. Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund Payments Under PAEA..............................4
Contacts
Author Contact Information ...................................................................................................... 11
________________________________________________________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
****************************************
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
[IWS] AfDB: AFRICAN STATISTICAL JOURNAL, Vol. 9, Nov. 2009 [28 January 2010]
IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
African Development Bank (AfDB)
African Statistical Journal, Vol. 9, Nov. 2009 [28 January 2010]
[full-text, 499 pages – in both ENGLISH & FRENCH]
Contents
Editorial...............................................................................................11
Abbreviations.......................................................................................19
Contributors........................................................................................23
Introduction: The informal sector and poverty in Africa – measurement
instruments, analyses, and economic policies, Martin Balepa
and François Roubaud......................................................................... 34
1. Measuring the informal sector and informal employment: the experience drawn from 1-2-3 surveys in African countries, Mireille
Razafindrakoto, François Roubaud, and Constance Torelli...................... 88
2. Operationalization of concepts of informality and production of accounts of informal production units: the experience of the Cameroon National Employment and Informal Sector Survey (EESI 2005), René Aymar Bertrand Amougou, Anaclet Désiré Dzossa, Joseph Fouoking, Stéphane Nepetsoun, and Joseph Tédou.......... 148
3 The informal economy in national accounts: The role of the national accountant, Michel Séruzier................................................. 201
4 Integration of the informal rural non-agricultural sector into the national accounts: the Cameroonian experience, Joseph Fouoking...... 250
5 Determinants of the willingness to register informal enterprises in Madagascar: implications for public administration strategies, Faly Hery Rakotomanana................................................................... 289
6 The informal sector, taxation, and equity: the example of Cameroon, Prosper Backiny-Yetna........................................................................ 347
7 Institutional role of statistics institutes in implementing and monitoring public policies on the informal sector in Africa: the case of Cameroon, René Aymar Bertrand Amougou, Anaclet Désiré Dzossa, Joseph Fouoking, Stéphane Nepetsoun, and Joseph Tédou.......... 388
8 Production of informal sector statistics in Africa: lessons and perspectives for improvement, François Roubaud.............................. 422
Book Review: “Urban Labor Markets in Africa”.................................453
Editorial Policy..................................................................................463
Guidelines for Manuscript Submission and Preparation.................467
Acknowledgments..............................................................................470
Highlights for the Second and Third Quarters 2009:
• First Forum on Statistical Training and Human Resources in Africa, Bujumbura, Burundi, June 18-19, 2009........................................... 473
• Regional Workshop on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Systems in Africa, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, June 29-July 3, 2009.................. 475
• The 57th Session of the International Statistical Institute, Durban, South Africa, August 16-22, 2009.................................................... 479
• Address by H.E. Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa, at the 57th Session of the ISI.................................................................. 485
• Address by Trevor Manuel, MP, Hon. Minister in the National Planning Commission, to the 57th Session of the ICI..................... 493
Upcoming Events...............................................................................496
________________________________________________________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
****************************************
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
[IWS] CEDEFOP: WEB PORTAL for VOCATIONAL EDUCATION & TRAINING [Update & redesigned] [27 January 2010]
IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
European Centre for the Developoment of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP)
New Web Portal for
Cedefop, the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training
www.cedefop.europa.eu
Press release -
A new Web portal for vocational education and training in the EU [27 January 2010]
http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/EN/news/15172.aspx
Cedefop, the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training, has brought its redesigned and updated Web pages under a new roof. The new Web portal (www.cedefop.europa.eu) has been conceived primarily with the needs of policy-makers, researchers and social partners in mind, but also aims to serve practitioners and interested European citizens.
Deputy Director Christian Lettmayr explains: "Our ambition is to provide easy access to vital information about vocational education and training (VET) in Europe - especially, but not exclusively, Cedefop’s own work."
________________________________________________________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
****************************************
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
[IWS] Census: Finances of Selected State and Local Government Employee Retirement Systems: 3rd Quarter 2009 [28 January 2010]
IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
Census
Finances of Selected State and Local Government Employee Retirement Systems: 3rd Quarter 2009 [28 January 2010]
http://www.census.gov/govs/www/qpr.html
This quarterly survey provides national summary data on the revenues, expenditures and composition of assets of the 100 largest state and local government employee retirement systems in the United States. These 100 systems comprise 89.4 percent of financial activity among such entities. This survey provides the most current data about investment decisions by state and local government employee retirement systems, which are among the largest types of institutional investors in the U.S. financial markets. These data tables are published four months after each calendar quarter and show national financial transactions and trends for the past five years.
________________________________________________________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
****************************************
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
[IWS] BEA: GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT: 4th Qtr. 2009 (ADVANCE ESTIMATE) [29 January 2010]
IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT: FOURTH QUARTER 2009 (ADVANCE ESTIMATE) [29 January 2010]
http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/2010/gdp4q09_adv.htm
or
http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/2010/pdf/gdp4q09_adv.pdf
[full-text, 14 pages]
or
http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/2010/xls/gdp4q09_adv.xls
[spreadsheet]
and
Highlights
http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/2010/pdf/gdp4q09_adv_fax.pdf
Real gross domestic product -- the output of goods and services produced by labor and property
located in the United States -- increased at an annual rate of 5.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009,
(that is, from the third quarter to the fourth quarter), according to the "advance" estimate released by the
Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the third quarter, real GDP increased 2.2 percent.
The Bureau emphasized that the fourth-quarter advance estimate released today is based on
source data that are incomplete or subject to further revision by the source agency (see the box on page
4). The "second" estimate for the fourth quarter, based on more complete data, will be released on
February 26, 2010.
The increase in real GDP in the fourth quarter primarily reflected positive contributions from
private inventory investment, exports, and personal consumption expenditures (PCE). Imports, which
are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased.
The acceleration in real GDP in the fourth quarter primarily reflected an acceleration in private
inventory investment, a deceleration in imports, and an upturn in nonresidential fixed investment that
were partly offset by decelerations in federal government spending and in PCE.
Motor vehicle output added 0.61 percentage point to the fourth-quarter change in real GDP after
adding 1.45 percentage points to the third-quarter change. Final sales of computers subtracted 0.03
percentage point from the fourth-quarter change in real GDP after subtracting 0.08 percentage point
from the third-quarter change.
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FOOTNOTE.--Quarterly estimates are expressed at seasonally adjusted annual rates, unless otherwise
specified. Quarter-to-quarter dollar changes are differences between these published estimates. Percent
changes are calculated from unrounded data and are annualized. “Real” estimates are in chained (2005)
dollars. Price indexes are chain-type measures.
This news release is available on BEA’s Web site along with the Technical Note and Highlights
related to this release.
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AND MUCH MORE...including TABLES....
________________________________________________________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
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Institute for Workplace Studies
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