IWS Documented News DAILY POSTINGS

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

________________________________________________________________________

REAL EARNINGS * SEPTEMBER 2013 [30 October 2013]

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/realer.nr0.htm

or

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/realer.pdf

[full-text, 5 pages]

All employees

Real average hourly earnings for all employees was unchanged from August to September, seasonally

adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This result stems from a 0.1 percent

increase in average hourly earnings being offset by a 0.2 percent increase in the Consumer Price Index

for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U).

Real average weekly earnings decreased 0.1 percent over the month due to an unchanged real average

hourly earnings and an unchanged average workweek. 

Real average hourly earnings rose 0.9 percent, seasonally adjusted, from September 2012 to September

2013. The increase in real average hourly earnings, combined with an unchanged average workweek,

resulted in a 0.9 percent increase in real average weekly earnings over this period.

Production and nonsupervisory employees

Real average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees rose 0.1 percent from August

to September, seasonally adjusted. This gain stems from a 0.2 percent increase in average hourly earnings

being about offset by a 0.2 percent increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and

Clerical Workers (CPI-W).

Real average weekly earnings was unchanged over the month due to a 0.1 percent increase in real

average hourly earnings combined with an unchanged average workweek.

Real average hourly earnings rose 1.3 percent, seasonally adjusted, from September 2012 to September

2013. The increase in real average hourly earnings, combined with an unchanged average workweek,

resulted in a 1.2 percent increase in real average weekly earnings over this period.

______________

Real Earnings for October 2013 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, November 20, 2013 at

8:30 a.m. (EST).

AND 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.

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

________________________________________________________________________

CONSUMER PRICE INDEX - SEPTEMBER 2013 [30 October 2013]

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm

or

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cpi.pdf

and

Supplemental Files Table of Contents

http://www.bls.gov/web/cpi.supp.toc.htm

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.2

percent in September on a seasonally adjusted basis, the U.S. Bureau

of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all

items index increased 1.2 percent before seasonal adjustment.

The energy index rose 0.8 percent in September and accounted for about

half of the seasonally adjusted all items increase. All the major

energy component indexes rose in September. The food index was

unchanged, with declines in the indexes for fruits and vegetables and

for nonalcoholic beverages offsetting increases in other indexes.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.1 percent in

September, the same increase as in August. The shelter and medical

care indexes also advanced and accounted for most of this increase.

The indexes for new vehicles and for airline fares rose as well, while

the apparel and recreation indexes declined.

The all items index increased 1.2 percent over the last 12 months;

this was the smallest 12-month increase since April. The index for all

items less food and energy has risen 1.7 percent over the last year

with the shelter and medical care indexes both up 2.4 percent. The

food index has risen 1.4 percent, while the energy index has declined

3.1 percent.

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.

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)

THE STATE OF KENYA'S PRIVATE SECTOR [October 2013]

http://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Project-and-Operations/The%20State%20of%20Kenya%27s%20Private%20Sector.pdf

[full-text, 155 pages]

[excerpt]

The purpose of this report is to measure the private sector’s actual contribution to the Kenyan economy and,

as a result, the progress and success of the aforementioned policies. This is done by providing an in-depth profile

of the private sector and how it has evolved over the last five or so years, as well as a detailed assessment of the

current business environment for private sector growth in Kenya. Given the new constitution and a new system

of devolved government, a section is also dedicated to understanding what this might mean for private sector activities.

CONTENTS

Foreword

Acknowledgements

1. Executive Summary

2. Introduction to the Study

2.1. Study framework

3. Overview of Kenya’s Private Sector

3.1. Introduction

4. The Business Environment

4.1. What constitutes a “good” business environment?

4.2. Economic and political environment

4.3. Institutions and governance

4.4. Infrastructure

4.5. Human capital

4.6. Labour market

4.7. Access to inputs

4.8. Policy

4.9. Legal and regulatory framework

4.10. Public-private engagement

4.11. Business linkages

4.12. Business development

4.13. Conclusion

5. The Constitution, Devolved Government and Business

5.1. Introduction

5.2. New constitution

5.3. Devolved government

5.4. County competencies

5.5. Conclusion

6. Sector Profiles

6.1. Agriculture, forestry and fishing

6.2. Transport and communication (including BPO)

6.3. Wholesale and retail trade

6.4. Manufacturing

6.5. Financial services

6.6. Tourism (hotels and restaurants)

6.7. ‘Budding’ sectors

7. Conclusion

7.1. Strengths

7.2. Challenges

7.3. Opportunities

8. Recommendations

8.1. Improving the business and investment climate

8.2. Understandng the Informal Sector & linking MSEs with bigger business

8.3. Manage impact of devolved government and the constitution

8.4. Public-private cooperation and dialogue

8.5. Sector growth and competitiveness

8.6. Improving economic data

Reference List

Appendix A: Interview List

Appendix B: Constitution of Kenya, 2010

________________________________________________________________________

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.

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

________________________________________________________________________

Towers Watson

EXTREME RISKS--2013 [29 October 2013]

http://www.towerswatson.com/en/Insights/IC-Types/Survey-Research-Results/2013/10/Extreme-risks-2013

or

http://www.towerswatson.com/DownloadMedia.aspx?media={0872303A-F08A-4800-90E0-45E225EDCD40}

[full-text, 20 pages]

This paper has focussed on the top 15 risks, but we acknowledge that it is not possible to anticipate all risks – by definition, there are ‘unknown unknowns’ out there that cannot be included even with the best analysis. The range of potential consequences of the identified risks is very wide. Local-endurable risks would be uncomfortable for institutions caught in the wrong locale, or with the wrong exposures, and would likely be enough to cause the weaker ones to become incapable of completing their mission. At the other end of the spectrum, global-crushing risks represent a systemic and potentially terminal outcome for investors. The value of this exercise, however, lies outside prediction. To navigate through this complex world, we suggest investors need to be open-minded, avoid concentrated risks, be sensitive to early warning signs, constantly adapt and always prepare for the worst.

Press Release 29 October 2013

Focus on the extreme risks ‘that can kill you’ Towers Watson warns institutional investors

Euro break-up and Killer pandemic “out”; Nuclear contamination and Extreme longevity   “in”

http://www.towerswatson.com/en/Press/2013/10/Focus-on-the-extreme-risks-that-can-kill-you-Towers-Watson-warns-institutional-investors

LONDON – Tuesday 29 October, 2013 –Towers Watson’s extreme risks ranking has a new top three: Food/water/energy crisis, Stagnationand Global temperature change – while Sovereign default and Insurance crisis have both fallen five places and Depression loses the top spot for the first time since the research began in 2009.  While Food/water/energy crisis (previously Resource scarcity) rose ten places to take the top slot, other extreme risks that have also risen up the ranking this year are Global trade collapse (+4) and Global temperature change (+3). Extreme risks that, in Towers Watson’s view, are less of a threat than in 2011 include Sovereign default, which has fallen five places, as has an Insurance crisis, while a Currency crisis and a Banking crisisfell three and two places respectively.

Towers Watson’s research and ranking¹, entitled Extreme risks 2013, categorises very rare events that would have a high impact on global economic growth and asset returns if they occurred. The top 15 Extreme risks now for the first time include: Stagnation, Health progress backfire, Nuclear contamination, Extreme longevity and Terrorism, while those that have dropped out of the top 15 this year are: Euro break-up, Hyperinflation, Political crisis, Major war, End of fiat money and Killer pandemic.

Tim Hodgson, head of Towers Watson's Thinking Ahead Group, said: “There has been a high level of turnover in the top 15 this year. This is largely due to us expanding our research into the non-financial extreme risks so that we now have a full list of 30. So while on the face of it, it’s good to see the likes of Killer pandemic and Major war dropping out of the top 15, they are only just below the cut off (at 17 and 18 respectively). New entrants to the top 15 include the likes of Terrorism and Extreme longevity which rise up the rankings either due to our assessment that they are more likely (Major terrorist attack rather than World war III) or there is less uncertainty as to the impact (Extreme longevity vs. Killer pandemic).  This illustrates the challenge facing institutional investors, of how they should actually adapt to changing assessments of extreme risks. We would suggest that time should be spent on ‘pre mortems’ which are about trying to determine in advance what could, colloquially, ‘kill you’, that is permanently impair an investor’s mission.”

According to the research such ‘pre mortems’ should identify which extreme risks matter and which can be ignored. For the former, Towers Watson asserts that the right thing to do is to pay up for the insurance (if available and affordable), given that the prioritisation exercise has shown the investor cannot afford to self-insure. Then an investor should do the simple things: ensure the portfolio is as diversified across as many return drivers as possible; diversify within asset classes; and create a strategic allocation to cash to provide optionality. Thereafter, it suggests that greater complexity can be added over time, assuming these steps pass a considered cost/benefit analysis, such as adding long-dated derivative contracts in a contrarian manner, that is, when they are cheap rather than popular.

Tim Hodgson said: “While interesting in its own right, we believe the consideration of extreme risks can be useful in helping to design more robust investment portfolios and more robust risk management processes. The starting point to building a robust investment portfolio and reducing (but not eliminating) tail risks is to introduce greater diversity. The next step is to explore some hedging strategies.”

The Towers Watson research suggests, broadly, there are three hedging strategies available to institutions:

·         Hold cash. The option value of holding cash increases in periods of market stress, allowing investors with cash to buy truly cheap assets.

·         Derivatives. It is worth mentioning that cost and usefulness are often in opposition. The cost of derivatives protection can often be reduced by specifying more precise conditions – but the more precise the conditions, the greater the chance that they are not exactly met and hence the ‘insurance’ does not pay out.

·         Hold a negatively-correlated asset. There is no single asset that will work against all possible bad outcomes. Further, there is no guarantee that the expected performance of the hedge asset will actually transpire in the future event.

Tim Hodgson said: “We believe that being adept at ‘pre mortems’ means being a better risk manager, and being able to react more flexibly in the event of an extreme event happening, particularly as the event is unlikely to evolve precisely as predicted. Consequently, the obvious application of extreme risk thinking is in stress-testing or scenario planning, but it is also constructive to consider whether the thinking can be incorporated within the process for managing an investment institution’s balance sheet.

“Naturally, we would advocate establishing some sort of early warning system to closely monitor what could develop into extreme events. While this is probably one of the areas where things are easier said than done, the science (and art) of predicting the seemingly unpredictable has advanced significantly during the global financial crisis.”

¹ A subjective scoring system to derive a ranking of these risks, and the change of ranking reflects a change of view regarding both impact and likelihood of each individual risk.

Towers Watson’s extreme risks rankings over time

* Food/Water/Energy crisis

2013 extreme risk ranking, descriptions and potential hedging investments**

* Food/Water/Energy crisis
** Our subjective measure based on the intensity and scope of the impact, the likelihood, and the degree of uncertainty in assessing the risk level.

Notes to editors

The irreversibility of time – Or why you should not listen to financial economists further explores the subject of risk management and asserts that a potentially complex debate can be considerably simplified by invoking a rock-solid physical law. The aim: to bring clarity to a potentially difficult subject and provide a positive contribution to the understanding and management of risk.

________________________________________________________________________

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.

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

________________________________________________________________________

International Labour Organization (ILO)

Bureau for Workers' Activities (ACTRAV)

Tercerizacion Mediante Agencias de Trabajo Temporal en America Latina [29 October 2013]

http://www.ilo.org/actrav/what/pubs/WCMS_227991/lang--en/index.htm

or

http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_dialogue/---actrav/documents/publication/wcms_227991.pdf

[full-text, 190 pages]

Press Release 29 October 2013
Americas: Unions launched a new study on Temporary Agency Work
A new study concerning temporary agency work in eight countries in Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Panama and Uruguay) was been launched in Geneva by the Trade Unions Confederation of Americas (TUCA) and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), with support of ILO Bureau for Workers Activities (ACTRAV).

http://www.ilo.org/actrav/info/pr/WCMS_227978/lang--en/index.htm

GENEVA- A new study concerning Temporary Agency Work within eight countries in Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Panama and Uruguay) has been launched in Geneva by the Trade Unions Confederation of Americas (TUCA) and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) within the framework of its campaign on freedom of association, collective bargaining and trade union self-reform.

This study launched with the support of ILO Bureau for Workers Activities, ACTRAV/Norwegian Project  “The Trade Unions for the Social Justice”, was a follow up to resolutions adopted at the second TUCA Congress (Foz, April 2012) and also responded to issues raised at the Global Dialogue Forum on private employment agencies (Geneva, October 2011), calling for more research on the actual use of employment agencies in both developed and developing countries.

The main conclusions of the study realised during 2012-2013 underlined that, there are several needs to:

• develop strategies to counter the expansion of agency work and set limits as part of the strategy against outsourcing
• identify gaps in legislation and improve labour inspection
• extend the coverage of collective agreements to agency workers to ensure equal treatment.
• limit the use and duration of agency work both through legislation and through sectoral collective agreements
• refine trade union strategies through country exchanges based on national experiences especially in Argentina and Uruguay
• analyse the various models of outsourcing and subcontracting that are developed to find effective ways to respond to these
• more systematical collection of statistics on the use of employment agencies.

Within this framework, Unions calls upon the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to give more assistance in terms of capacity building in order to address the challenge of precarious work in Latin America and Caribbean countries.

“We want advocacy for the ratification of the Private Employment Agencies Convention (C 181) and the technical advice for the States and Unions for legislative regulation. We also want the Unions to negotiate with the enterprises the reduction of precarious work”, said Victor Baez, General Secretary of TUCA.

This study is the first input from the Trade Unions research with detailed information about the temporary work agencies and precarious work.


For more information, please contact:

Ms. Hilda Sanchez
Senior Specialist of Workers Activities
Desk Officer for Americas
Tel: +41 22 799 68 81
Email: sanchezh[at]ilo.org

________________________________________________________________________

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.

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

________________________________________________________________________

BLS REPORT 1045 October 2013

HIGHLIGHTS OF WOMEN'S EARNINGS IN 2012 [28 October 2013]

http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpswom2012.pdf

[full-text, 91 pages]

In 2012, women who were full-time wage and salary workers had median usual weekly earnings of $691. On

average in 2012, women made about 81 percent of the median earnings of male full-time wage and salary workers

($854). In 1979, the first year for which comparable earnings data are available, women earned 62 percent of

what men earned. (See chart 1 and tables 1 and 12.)

This report presents data highlights and statistical tables of earnings data from the Current Population Survey

(CPS), a national monthly survey of approximately 60,000 households conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Information on earnings is collected from one-fourth of the CPS sample

each month. It is important to note that the comparisons of earnings in this report are on a broad level and do

not control for many factors that can be significant in explaining earnings differences. For a detailed description

of the source of the data and an explanation of the concepts and definitions used in this report, see the accompanying

technical notes section.

CONTENTS

Earnings of full-time workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Age. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Race and ethnicity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Education. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Occupation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Status as a parent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

State of residence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Weekly work hours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Earnings of part-time workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Earnings of workers paid by the hour. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Statistical Tables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Technical Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

________________________________________________________________________

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.

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 Commission

Eurostat

SMARTER, GREENER, MORE INCLUSIVE?: INDICATORS TO SUPPORT THE EUROPE 2020 STRATEGY 2013 EDITION [29 October 2013]

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/product_details/publication?p_product_code=KS-02-13-238

or

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-02-13-238/EN/KS-02-13-238-EN.PDF

[full-text, 220 pages]

Press Release 29 October 2013

Eurostat new flagship publication

A comprehensive source of information to support the Europe 2020 strategy

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_STAT-13-157_en.htm?locale=en

Smarter, greener, more inclusive? — Indicators to support the Europe 2020 strategy is the first of a new type of Eurostat flagship publication providing statistical analyses related to important European Commission policy frameworks or economic, social or environmental phenomena. It provides statistical support for the Europe 2020 strategy and backs up the monitoring of its five headline targets. The analysis in this publication is based on the Europe 2020 headline indicators chosen to monitor the strategy’s targets. Other indicators focusing on subgroups of society or on related issues showing underlying trends help deepen the analysis and present a broader picture. The publication presents official statistics produced by the European Statistical System and disseminated by Eurostat. They cover the period from 2000 or 2005 up to the most recent year for which data are available (2011 or 2012).

Contents

Foreword.........................................................................................................................................................................................................3

Acknowledgements..............................................................................................................................................................................4

Executive summary...............................................................................................................................................................................7

Introduction..............................................................................................................................................................................................13

Europe 2020 in a broader policy perspective.............................................................................................................21

1. Employment ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 27

2. Research and development ................................................................................................................................................ 49

3. Climate change and energy................................................................................................................................................. 73

4. Education............................................................................................................................................................................................. 93

5. Poverty and social exclusion............................................................................................................................................ 125

Country profiles..................................................................................................................................................................................151

Abbreviations and acronyms................................................................................................................................................209

________________________________________________________________________

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.

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

________________________________________________________________________

INC.

4 Innovation Lessons from Mozart BY Samuel Bacharach [29 October 2013]

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart juggled financial difficulties and a rocky personal life, all while trying to make an extraordinary creative contribution. Sound familiar?

http://www.inc.com/samuel-bacharach/four-innovation-lessons-from-mozart.html

Mozart wrote his first opera when he was 12 years old. He was, according to Haydn, “the greatest composer I know, either personally or by reputation.” Yet Mozart always struggled to create, innovate, and pay the bills on time.

Today’s entrepreneurs can learn a lot from Mozart, who continued to create even as he dealt with a stormy personal life and destructive financial pressures.

Here are four innovation lessons you can learn from Mozart:

1. Don't be afraid to quit

Until 1781, Archbishop Colloredo was Mozart’s chief patron. However, Mozart bristled under his patronage. Colloredo wouldn’t let Mozart make money from private shows or rub shoulders with influential people. Colloredo’s logic was simple. The less Mozart earned and the fewer people he met, the more Mozart would focus on his productions for the Salzburg court. Mozart wanted to quit, but was reluctant to do so because his father also worked at the court and he didn’t want to sour relations.

Events came to a head when Colloredo refused to let Mozart perform at Countess Thun’s estate. Adding insult to injury, Colloredo forced Mozart to dine in the servants’ quarters. Enraged, Mozart took a risk and attempted to resign with a letter. At first he was rebuffed, but when he tried to appeal in person, Colloredo’s secretary saw him out and gave him a “kick in the arse.”

Mozart’s departure from the Salzburg court was “a life affirming, revolutionary step” according to Mozart’s biographer, Maynard Solomon. He adds, “Finally, Mozart had learned….to say no to patriarchal domination, to hierarchical injustice, to unfairness, exploitation, and subjection…Perhaps, too, he sensed and no longer could countenance, the mounting danger to his creativity.”

After Mozart quit, his creative output increased, but he was forced to struggle and endure financial hardships.

Lesson for innovators: This lesson isn’t: “Quit your job!” But the lesson is to quit your current situation if you can move into a better space, creatively and emotionally, if not financially. If you will not be more creative or productive, then maybe quitting isn’t the best move.

2. Always refresh your work

In 18th-century Austria, a composer had to work hard to find a theater space. There was a lot of competition and limited availability. Mozart decided to organize solo piano concerts at unconventional venues like restaurants and apartment buildings. He usually played his own piano concertos to “display the full range of his keyboard capabilities,” or he’d organize smaller orchestras. In many ways, Mozart was the forerunner of today’s bands that play in a variety of venues.

The music he wrote during this period (1782-1786) was both elegant and simple, and he strived to please not only the aristocracy, but all classes. “These concertos,” Mozart wrote to his father with characteristic bravado, “are a happy medium between what is too easy and too difficult; they are brilliant, pleasing to the air.” The audience kept coming back for more, and Mozart kept on writing and performing to please his customers.

Solomon tells us, “Rarely had anyone given more than one concert in a season.” Mozart’s productivity and fresh musical ideas enabled him to out-write and outperform his contemporaries.

Lesson for innovators: Keep updating your ideas. Mozart knew he couldn’t make a profit by playing the same piece over and over. He creatively refreshed his ideas, which increased his productivity.

3. Travel often and widely

Mozart toured Europe as a child, performing for various courts and dignitaries. His constant travels exposed him to many different styles of music-;notably Italian and German. Daniel J. Boorstein notes, “No other composer so succeeded in marrying Italian homophony with German polyphony to make a European music.” Mozart’s contemporaries, such as Bach and Haydn, never had traveled as widely--Bach hadn’t even been to Italy--and were not exposed to as many musical styles.

Lesson for innovators: Travel far and wide (as your finances allow) and leave yourself open to new experiences. By going further afield, you can learn new things that you can integrate into what you already know and come up with something completely different.

4. Don't be afraid to hide

Mozart found that isolation was the best fuel for his creativity. He wrote, “When I am ...completely myself, entirely alone... or during the night when I cannot sleep, it is on such occasions that my ideas flow best and most abundantly. Whence and how these ideas come I know not nor can I force them.”

Lesson for innovators: Make time for yourself. Mozart spent a lot of time touring and in the public eye, but he knew his best work came in moments of isolation. You don’t need to be in the limelight to accomplish your best work.

Last updated: Oct 29, 2013

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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.

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

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International Finance Corporation (IFC)/World Bank

DOING BUSINESS 2014: UNDERSTANDING REGULATIONS FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZE ENTERPRISES [29 October 2013]

http://doingbusiness.org/reports/global-reports/doing-business-2014

or

http://doingbusiness.org/~/media/GIAWB/Doing%20Business/Documents/Annual-Reports/English/DB14-Full-Report.pdf

[full-text, 316 pages]

Press Release 28 October 2013

‘Doing Business’ Research Documents 18 Percent Increase in Business Regulation Reforms, Helping Entrepreneurs; Trend to Reduce Burdens Especially Noticeable In Africa

http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2013/10/28/doing-business-research-business-regulation-entrepreneurs-africa

Overview

Doing Business 2014: Understanding Regulations for Small and Medium-Size Enterprises assesses regulations affecting domestic firms in 189 economies and ranks the economies in 10 areas of business regulation, such as starting a business, resolving insolvency and trading across borders. This year’s report data cover regulations measured from June 2012 through May 2013. The report is the 11th edition of the Doing Business series.

Main Findings

• Ukraine, Rwanda, the Russian Federation, the Philippines, Kosovo, Djibouti, Côte d’Ivoire, Burundi, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Guatemala are among the economies improving the most in 2012/13 in areas tracked by Doing Business.
• Worldwide, 114 economies implemented 238 regulatory reforms in 2012/13 making it easier to do business as measured by Doing Business – 18% more reforms than in the previous year. Read about reforms.
• Sub-Saharan Africa is home to 9 of the 20 economies narrowing the gap with the regulatory frontier the most since 2009. Low-income economies narrowed this gap twice as much as high-income economies did.
• Singapore topped the global ranking on the ease of doing business. Joining it on the list of the top 10 economies with the most business-friendly regulatory environments are Hong Kong SAR, China; New Zealand; the United States; Denmark; Malaysia; the Republic of Korea; Georgia; Norway; and the United Kingdom.
• Doing Business collected data for the first time this year in four economies: Libya, Myanmar, San Marino, and South Sudan.
• Case studies highlighting good practices in 6 of the areas measured by Doing Business indicator sets are featured in the report: the role of minimum capital requirements in starting a business; risk-based inspections in dealing with construction permits; the cost structure in getting electricity; single window systems in trading across borders; e-filing and e-payment in paying taxes; and e-courts in enforcing contracts. See all case studies.
• This year’s report presents a separate chapter about research on the effects of business regulations. There is a rapidly growing body of empirical research examining the impact of improvements in many of the regulatory areas tracked by the Doing Business indicators, and this chapter provides a useful—and encouraging—synthesis. Read research papers.
  
  

o    Key Sections from the Doing Business 2014 report (PDF format)

o    Overview

o    About Doing Business: measuring for impact

o    Research on the effects of business regulations

o    Data notes

o    Summaries of Doing Business reforms

o    Country tables

o    Topic chapters:

o    Starting a business

o    Dealing with construction permits

o    Getting electricity

o    Registering property

o    Getting credit

o    Protecting investors

o    Paying taxes

o    Trading across borders

o    Enforcing contracts

o    Resolving insolvency

o    Annex: Employing workers

o    Case Studies

o    Improving court efficiency: the Republic of Korea’s e-court experience

o    Implementing trade single windows in Singapore, Colombia and Azerbaijan

o    Implementing electronic tax filing and payments in Malaysia

o    Tackling high electricity connection costs: Trinidad and Tobago’s new approach

o    What role should risk-based inspections play in construction?

o    Why are minimum capital requirements a concern for entrepreneurs?

________________________________________________________________________

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.