Wednesday, September 30, 2009

[IWS] Dublin Foundation/CLIP: MIGRANT HOUSING & SEGREGATION: CASE STUDIES [30 September 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
________________________________________________________________________

European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Dublin Foundation)
Cities for Local Integration Policies (CLIP)

HOUSING & SEGREGATION of MIGRANTS: CASE STUDIES [30 September 2009]

[excerpt]
In 2006, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, the city of Stuttgart and the European
Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) established a 'European network of
cities for local integration policies for migrants', henceforth termed CLIP. The network comprises a steering committee,
a group of expert European research centres and a number of European cities. In the following two years, the cities of
Vienna and Amsterdam joined the CLIP Steering Committee. The network is also supported by the Committee of the
Regions (CoR) and the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), and has also formed a partnership
with the European Network Against Racism (ENAR).

Through the medium of separate city reports (case studies) and workshops the network enables local authorities to learn
from each other and to deliver a more effective integration policy.
The unique character of the CLIP network is that it
organises a shared learning process between the participating cities, between the cities and a group of expert European
research centres as well as between policy makers at local and European level.

The CLIP network brings together more than 30 large and medium sized cities from all regions of Europe and includes
Amsterdam (NL), Arnsberg (DE), Antwerp (BE), Athens (EL), Diputaciò de Barcelona (ES), Bologna (IT), Breda (NL),
Brescia (IT), Budapest (HU), Copenhagen (DK), Dublin (IE), Frankfurt (DE), Helsinki (FI), Istanbul (TR), Izmir (TR),
Kirklees (UK), Lisbon (PT), Liège (BE), City of Luxembourg (LU), Matarò (ES), Malmö (SE), Prague (CZ),
Sefton (UK), Stuttgart (DE), Sundsvall (SE), Tallinn (EE), Terrassa (ES), Torino (IT), Turku (FI), Valencia (ES), Vienna
(AT), Wolverhampton (UK), Wroclaw (PL), Zagreb (HR) and Zurich (CH).


Housing and segregation of migrants - Case study: Frankfurt, Germany
http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/publications/htmlfiles/ef09493.htm
or
http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/pubdocs/2009/493/en/1/EF09493EN.pdf
[full-text, 36 pages]

As early as the 1960s, due to its industrial facilities, Frankfurt became one of the first main destinations for guest workers. Today, almost 161,000 foreigners from 130 countries live in Frankfurt, accounting for one quarter of the city's population. Frankfurt's housing market, particularly in the lower price ranges, is extremely competitive. As a result of the (on average) low income level of Frankfurt's migrants, they frequently have less housing space than inhabitants without a migration background. Migrants also tend to live in neighbourhoods with comparatively bad housing environments. However, in general, ethnic segregation is relatively low owing to the efforts of the Housing Office and housing companies to actively prevent segregation over a long period of time.


Housing and segregation of migrants - Case study: Stuttgart, Germany
http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/publications/htmlfiles/ef09494.htm
or
http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/pubdocs/2009/494/en/1/EF09494EN.pdf
[full-text, 33 pages]

Stuttgart has about 600,000 inhabitants, almost a quarter of whom are foreigners and 40% have a migration background. In this prosperous city, the integration of migrants has primarily taken place through structural integration into the labour market. The city included migrants in the general welfare state and social policy system. Concerning the housing market, this means that non-Germans have the same legal rights as Germans to apply for housing assistance. The most important measures in Stuttgart for low-income households are council flats and the housing allowance. The city also supports affordable homeownership for families, a programme often used by migrants.


Housing and segregation of migrants - Case study: Terrassa, Spain
http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/publications/htmlfiles/ef09495.htm
or
http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/pubdocs/2009/495/en/1/EF09495EN.pdf
[full-text, 40 pages]

Considering the late start of immigration - 10 years ago -, integration policies in Terrassa have developed rather quickly and the implementation of social measures has been undertaken in a dynamic and energetic way. Measures include visiting immigrants in order to prevent problems in apartment buildings, providing induction courses and mediation services, organising the reception of newcomers, offering language courses and running training courses for unemployed people. The municipality intends to increase its social housing stock as quickly as possible, but it will still take time until this goal is reached.


Housing and segregation of migrants - Case study: Vienna, Austria
http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/publications/htmlfiles/ef09496.htm
or
http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/pubdocs/2009/496/en/1/EF09496EN.pdf
[full-text, 61 pages]

The city of Vienna's integration policies since the beginning of the 1990s have aimed to achieve equal rights and opportunities for immigrants in all spheres of social and economic, cultural and political life of the local population. Thus, a comprehensive set of measures were implemented to provide ample support for voluntary and affordable language courses, labour market integration, provision of information and support in the sphere of housing and conflict mediation at the regional level for all groups of the migrant population.


Housing and segregation of migrants - Case study: Antwerp, Belgium
http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/publications/htmlfiles/ef09491.htm
or
http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/pubdocs/2009/491/en/1/EF09491EN.pdf
[full-text, 41 pages]

Antwerp is the largest city in Flanders, with 470,044 inhabitants in 2006. Some 13% of the city's population consists of foreigners, of whom 8% are non-EU nationals. Antwerp's municipal housing policy aims to sustain and even increase the diversity within the city. This diversity pertains not so much to ethnicity, but rather to age, socioeconomic status, family status, level of professional qualification and other aspects of diversity. A priority target of Antwerp's housing policy is to attract young families with two salaries and young children to the city. It also aims to increase the city's housing supply and improve the present housing stock.


Housing and segregation of migrants - Case study: Arnsberg, Germany
http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/publications/htmlfiles/ef09492.htm
or
http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/pubdocs/2009/492/en/1/EF09492EN.pdf
[full-text, 28 pages]

Migrant integration in Arnsberg has primarily taken place by opening up the core institutions, such as the education system and the labour market, to migrants and by including migrants in the national welfare system. With regard to the housing market, this means that non-Germans have the same legal rights as Germans to apply for housing assistance. The most important measures for low income households have been the availability of council flats and the housing allowance. Socio-spatially, foreigners have been well integrated into city life. However, some segregated housing areas do exist, and numerous concepts, measures and initiatives have been introduced to combat this problem.


______________________________
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] ILAB: FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS (FTAs) web page

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
________________________________________________________________________

Bureau of International Labor Affairs ( ILAB)
Office of Trade and Labor Affairs (OTLA)

Free Trade Agreements (FTAs)
http://www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/otla/freetradeagreement.htm

[MAP]

If you are interested in information on U.S. free trade agreements, please select one of the highlighted areas on the map [using the link above] or choose from the links below:
   * North American Free Trade Agreement
http://www.dol.gov/cgi-bin/leave-dol.asp?exiturl=http://www.ustr.gov/Trade_Agreements/Regional/NAFTA/Section_Index.html&exitTitle=North%20American%20Free%20Trade%20Agreement&fedpage=yes
  * Jordan Free Trade Agreement
http://www.dol.gov/cgi-bin/leave-dol.asp?exiturl=http://www.ustr.gov/Trade_Agreements/Bilateral/Jordan/Section_Index.html&exitTitle=U.S.-%20Jordan%20Free%20Trade%20Agreement&fedpage=yes
   * Chile Free Trade Agreement
http://www.dol.gov/cgi-bin/leave-dol.asp?exiturl=http://www.ustr.gov/Trade_Agreements/Bilateral/Chile_FTA/Section_Index.html&exitTitle=U.S.-Chile%20Free%20Trade%20Agreement&fedpage=yes
   * Singapore Free Trade Agreement
http://www.dol.gov/cgi-bin/leave-dol.asp?exiturl=http://www.ustr.gov/Trade_Agreements/Bilateral/Singapore_FTA/Section_Index.html&exitTitle=U.S.-Singapore%20Free%20Trade%20Agreement&fedpage=yes
   * Morocco Free Trade Agreement
http://www.dol.gov/cgi-bin/leave-dol.asp?exiturl=http://www.ustr.gov/Trade_Agreements/Bilateral/Morocco_FTA/Section_Index.html&exitTitle=U.S.-Morocco%20Free%20Trade%20Agreement&fedpage=yes
  * Australia Free Trade Agreement
http://www.dol.gov/cgi-bin/leave-dol.asp?exiturl=http://www.ustr.gov/Trade_Agreements/Bilateral/Australia_FTA/Section_Index.html&exitTitle=U.S.-Australia%20Free%20Trade%20Agreement&fedpage=yes
   * Bahrain Free Trade Agreement
http://www.ustr.gov/Trade_Agreements/Bilateral/Bahrain_FTA/Section_Index.html
   * CAFTA-DR Free Trade Agreement
http://www.dol.gov/cgi-bin/leave-dol.asp?exiturl=http://www.ustr.gov/Trade_Agreements/Bilateral/CAFTA/Section_Index.html&exitTitle=U.S.-%20CAFTA-DR%20Free%20Trade%20Agreement&fedpage=yes
   * Oman Free Trade Agreement
http://www.dol.gov/cgi-bin/leave-dol.asp?exiturl=http://www.ustr.gov/Trade_Agreements/Bilateral/Oman_FTA/Section_Index.html&exitTitle=U.S.-%20Oman%20Free%20Trade%20Agreement&fedpage=yes
   * Colombia Free Trade Agreement Negotiations
http://www.dol.gov/cgi-bin/leave-dol.asp?exiturl=http://www.ustr.gov/Trade_Agreements/Bilateral/Colombia_FTA/Section_Index.html&exitTitle=U.S.-Colombia%20Free%20Trade%20Agreement%20Negotiations&fedpage=yes
  * Peru Trade Promotion Agreement
http://www.dol.gov/cgi-bin/leave-dol.asp?exiturl=http://www.ustr.gov/Trade_Agreements/Bilateral/Peru_TPA/Section_Index.html&exitTitle=U.S.-%20Peru%20Trade%20Promotion%20Agreement&fedpage=yes


Additional resources
   * North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation
http://www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/nao/naalc.htm
   *Procedural Guidelines and Public Submissions
http://www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/otla/proceduralguidelines.htm
   * Technical Cooperation
http://www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ofr/technical_cooperation.htm


______________________________
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                  
****************************************


Tuesday, September 29, 2009

[IWS] MEASURING LABOUR MARKETS in CANADA & the U.S. 2009 Edition [3 September 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
________________________________________________________________________

Fraser Institute

Measuring Labour Markets in Canada and the United States: 2009 Edition [3 September 2009]
http://www.fraserinstitute.org/researchandpublications/publications/6887.aspx
or
http://www.fraserinstitute.org/commerce.web/product_files/MeasuringLabourMarkets2009.pdf
[full-text, 96 pages]

Measuring Labour Markets in Canada and the United States: 2009 Report is the fifth installment in our ongoing research to assess the performance of labour markets and explain why results differ among jurisdictions. This study provides a series of specific evaluations as well as a comprehensive measure of labour market performance. Indicators of labour performance such as job creation, unemployment, and productivity are used to assess Canadian provincial and US state labour market performance. This study also examines those characteristics and regulations of the labour market that have been shown to affect its performance.

CONTENTS
Executive summary / 1
Introduction / 14
Labour market performance / 15
Index of Labour Market Performance / 22
Labour market characteristics and regulation / 35
Appendix A: Methodology / 56
Appendix B: Other important factors / 58
References / 66
About this publication / 83

______________________________
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] [NEW BLOG] GREEN JOBS, SAFE JOBS -- from Hazards Magazine/ International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)

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
________________________________________________________________________

Hazards magazine | International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)


[NEW BLOG] Green jobs, safe jobs
http://www.hazards.org/greenjobs/blog/


About
http://www.hazards.org/greenjobs/blog/about/

Making sure green jobs are decent, good and safety jobs

Far from being our economic and employment salvation, left to its own devices the green economy could deliver the same unhealthy mix of hire-and-fire, poison-and-pain jobs that remain a blight on the reputational landscape of the not-so-green economy. This isn�t paranoia. It�s already happening, and it is happening on a grand scale. Luckily, unions and environmental campaigners are on the case, working for good, green jobs.

This �Green jobs, safe jobs� blog, from the trade union health and safety magazine Hazards magazine - http://www.hazards.org/greenjobs/ and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) - http://climate.ituc-csi.org/, addresses the real life health and safety issues that must be an integral part of discussions on the development of a green economy.

The blog aims to challenge the assumption that green jobs are automatically a good thing. If they kill workers they are not good; if they exploit workers they are not good. And there is no iron law guaranteeing that employers who are kind to the environment are kind to their workers.

The �Green jobs, safe jobs� blog presents evidence on the potential pitfalls and how to avoid them, so that we get jobs that are decent, safe and green. And it widens the discussion to incorporate issues like worker participation and unionisation as essential components of a healthy green economy. The blog is designed as a companion to the  Hazards green jobs, safe jobs webpages -- http://www.hazards.org/greenjobs/


______________________________
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] ITUC: LATVIA: UNION VIEW #14 [27 September 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
________________________________________________________________________

International Trade Union Confederation  (ITUC)


Union View #14: LATVIA [27 September 2009]
http://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/VS_Latvia_EN.pdf
[full-text, 8 pages]


The economic and financial crisis has pushed several central European countries to the edge of the abyss. Under the auspices of the International Monetary Fund, international aid is attempting to save them from economic collapse, but on the condition that they accept drastic austerity plans, with disastrous social consequences.

See also
UNION VIEW ARCHIVES
http://www.ituc-csi.org/spip.php?mot71


______________________________
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                  
****************************************


Monday, September 28, 2009

[IWS] GLOBAL CORRUPTION REPORT 2009: CORRUPTION & THE PRIVATE SECTOR [23 September 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
________________________________________________________________________

Transparency International

Global Corruption Report 2009: Corruption and the Private Sector [23 September 2009]
http://transparency.org/news_room/in_focus/2009/gcr2009
or
http://www.transparency.org/publications/gcr/gcr_2009
or
http://www.transparency.org/content/download/46187/739801
[full-text, 496 pages]

Executive Summary
http://www.transparency.org/content/download/46184/739789

[excerpt]
After a first broad wave of anti-corruption activism and corporate social responsibility (CSR)
activities, business worldwide now has a clearer responsibility, more profound self-interest and
greater potential to assume a vital role in the fi ght against corruption. This is a key message of
the Global Corruption Report 2009, which brings together more than eighty recognised experts,
practitioners and scholars to present the most comprehensive analysis to date of corruption
and remedies for the business sector in all world regions.
The lesson from the analysis is clear: more of the same simply will not do. A step change
in strategy and action is required to ensure that corruption in the business sector is tackled
effectively.

œ Business needs to recognise that corruption risks start with bribery and go beyond, requiring
an integrated approach to corporate integrity and corporate citizenship.

œ Governments need to take advantage of a new generation of innovative tools and thereby
put much more emphasis on regulatory capabilities, actual enforcement and international
cooperation.

œ Civil society needs to become fully aware of how corruption in business is at the core of many
other social, developmental and environmental challenges, and must forge much broader
and more effective partnerships to support corporate integrity.

œ Stakeholders ­ from business owners, executives and workers to auditors, investors,
regulators and anti-corruption activists ­ have to acknowledge that corporate integrity is a
multi-stakeholder effort that requires collective action across sectors, borders and institutional
boundaries.

AND MUCH MORE....

Figures
1 Corruption risks within spheres of corporate activity 8
2 From corporate integrity to a corporate integrity system 9
3 Share of pyrethroid contracts won 28
4 The four key pillars of the Business for Social Responsibility framework 64
5 Increase in business codes among Fortune Global 200 companies, 1970­2007 84
6 Measures at the Fortune Global 200 to embed their codes of ethics 87
7 Percentage of companies using whistleblowing systems and their effectiveness 94
8 Key standards: reach and potential impact 105
9 Staff for public enforcement of securities regulation, selected countries 125
10 Budgets for public enforcement of securities regulation, selected countries 125
11 Forms of corruption in the private sector, 2007 249
12 Corruption and poverty 396
13 Types of foreign bribery 405
14 Respondents stating that corruption was 'very relevant' or 'highly relevant' to their business 410
15 Percentage of respondents from each country stating that corruption took place 'often' and 'always' when companies compete for public sector contracts 411
16 Percentage of respondents from each country stating that corruption took place 'often' and 'always' when companies compete for private sector contracts 412
17 Reasons why IPUs' activities are not registered 414
18 Proportion of IPUs that were in contact with public agents and made payments to them 415
19 Administrative corruption and degree of informal activity 417
20 Number of companies by rating category 421
21 IOC and NOC average results, by areas of revenue transparency 425
22 Financial penalties collected annually: SEC compared to FSA (US$ millions) 434
23 Financial penalties collected annually (US$ per billion dollars market
capitalisation) 435

Tables
1 Disclosure policies for executive remuneration in selected European countries 91
2 Executive remuneration policies in Asia 92
3 Independent directors and corporate governance in the Middle East and north Africa 93
4 Whistleblower laws for private sector employees in Asia 95
5 Selected standards in comparative perspective 104
6 Sovereign wealth fund scoreboard: leaders and laggards 115
7 Offences and related provisions in regional and international anti-corruption conventions 118
8 Shortcomings in OECD country anti-corruption legislation 122
9 Comparison of the level of obstacles for doing business: rank among 181 countries 171
10 Acceptability of corrupt practices in the private sector 172
11 Prevalence of corrupt practices according to the reason for giving a gift or bribe in the course of paying local taxes, by sector 173
12 Classification of the causes of corruption in public sectors/services 173
13 Corruption Perceptions Index 2008 397
14 Bribe Payers Index 2008 404
15 Predicted probability of the willingness to register according to the types of
contact with public agents 415
16 TRAC country/territory rankings 422
17 Foreign bribery cases and investigations 427
18 Resources for public enforcement in securities regulation, selected countries 432

Boxes
1 Making compliance feasible rather than walking away 65
2 Engaging workers in supply chain integrity 65
3 Facing up to the consequences of bribery: a real-world case 121
4 Global bribery risks and the global banking system: some recent examples 141
5 Extract of an interview with Mr Farid Lahoud, Banque Audi 193
6 Information sought on corporate anti-bribery efforts for TRAC survey 420

______________________________
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 FALL & RISE of HOUSEHOLD SAVING [1 September 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
________________________________________________________________________

Congressional Research Service (CRS)

The Fall and Rise of Household Saving
Brian W. Cashell, Specialist in Macroeconomic Policy
September 1, 2009
http://opencrs.com/document/R40647/2009-09-01/download/1013/
[full-text, 14 pages]

Summary
Household saving matters for two reasons. First, it is an important source of funds to finance
domestic investment. Second, it is the means by which workers accumulate wealth and maintain
their living standard into retirement. Congress has indicated its desire to promote household
saving by, among other things, creating individual retirement accounts, and saving is an important
consideration in proposals to reform Social Security. At a time, however, when policymakers
have been looking for ways to increase spending to minimize the downturn and get the economy
growing again, households have begun to save more.

For the 40 months between January 2005 and April 2008, the personal saving rate averaged 1.8%.
In contrast, in the 1970s, the average personal saving rate was 9.6%. In May 2008, the personal
saving rate began to rise. It remains too early to tell with certainty if that represents the reversal of
the long-term decline. What may seem unusual is that it occurred at a time of general economic
weakness. The increase in household saving resulted in more than $300 billion less in consumer
spending than would have occurred had the saving rate not risen.

Prudent individuals might be expected to save enough to avoid a substantial decline in their living
standard on retirement. If consumers seek to maintain a fairly stable level of consumption over
their entire lives, then the level of consumption at any given point in their lives will depend on
their current wealth and some expectation about their income over the rest of their lives.

Changes in household net worth in recent years seem to have contributed to the swings in the
household saving rate. In the 1990s, equity prices rose substantially. Between 1991, the beginning
of an economic expansion, and 2001, the year it ended, the Standard and Poor's index of 500
stock prices rose by 217%. It is widely believed those increases in equity prices contributed to a
decline in the household saving rate.

After the turn of the century, increased house prices insulated household balance sheets from the
effects of a decline in equity values, and the household saving rate fell to near zero.

More recently, both equity and house prices have fallen. The combined drop in asset prices had a
significant effect on household net worth. At a time when current incomes have been falling, the
personal saving rate rose to more than 5%. It may be that the economic downturn is limiting the
saving response to the decline in household net worth. If that is the case, the saving rate might be
expected to continue to rise, or at least remain steady at current levels, when the economy begins
to recover, unless asset prices recover to levels now considered by many to have constituted a
"bubble."

Contents
Introduction ...............................................................................................................................1
Is the Long-Term Decline in Household Saving Over? ................................................................1
Measuring Saving .......................................................................................................................2
An Alternative Measure ........................................................................................................3
Household Saving and Wealth Accumulation...............................................................................4
Asset Prices and Personal Saving ..........................................................................................5
The Decline in Household Net Worth and the Recent Increase in the Saving Rate........................7
Who Saves? ...............................................................................................................................8
Are Households Saving Enough? ..........................................................................................9
Conclusion...............................................................................................................................10

Figures
Figure 1. Personal Saving as a Percentage of Disposable Personal Income...................................2
Figure 2. Flow of Funds Household Saving Rate .........................................................................4

Tables
Table 1. Saving by Income Quintile.............................................................................................9

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] CRS: DISPUTE SETTLEMENT in the WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO): AN OVERVIEW [8 September 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
________________________________________________________________________

Congressional Research Service (CRS)


Dispute Settlement in the World Trade Organization (WTO): An Overview
Jeanne J. Grimmett, Legislative Attorney
September 8, 2009
http://opencrs.com/document/RS20088/2009-09-08/download/1013/
[full-text, 15 pages]

Summary
Dispute settlement in the World Trade Organization (WTO) is carried out under the WTO
Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (DSU). In effect
since January 1995, the DSU provides for consultations between disputing parties, panels and
appeals, and possible retaliation if a defending party fails to comply with a WTO decision by an
established deadline. Automatic establishment of panels, adoption of panel and appellate reports,
and authorization of requests to retaliate, along with deadlines and improved multilateral
oversight of compliance, are aimed at producing a more expeditious and effective system than
had existed under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). To date, 398 complaints
have been filed, approximately half involving the United States as complainant or defendant.

Expressing dissatisfaction with WTO dispute settlement results in the trade remedy area,
Congress, in the Trade Act of 2002, directed the executive branch to address dispute settlement in
WTO negotiations. WTO Members have been negotiating DSU revisions in the currently stalled
Doha Development Round of trade negotiations but no final agreement on the DSU has been
reached. Use of the DSU has revealed procedural gaps, particularly affecting the compliance
phase of a dispute. These include a failure to coordinate procedures for requesting retaliation with
procedures for tasking a WTO panel with determining whether a defending Member has complied
in a case and the absence of a procedure for withdrawing trade sanctions imposed by a
complaining Member where the defending Member believes it has fulfilled its WTO obligations.
As a result, disputing Members have entered into bilateral agreements permitting retaliation and
compliance panel processes to progress on an agreed schedule and have initiated new dispute
proceedings aimed at removing retaliatory measures.

Where a U.S. law or regulation is at issue in a WTO case, the adoption by the WTO of a panel or
Appellate Body report finding that the measure violates a WTO agreement does not give the
report direct legal effect in this country; thus federal law is not affected until Congress or the
executive branch, as the case may be, takes action to remove the offending measure. Where a
restrictive foreign trade practice is at issue, Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 provides a
mechanism by which the United States Trade Representative (USTR) may challenge the measure
in a WTO dispute settlement proceeding and authorizes the USTR to take retaliatory action if the
defending Member has not complied with the resulting WTO decision. Although Section 301 was
challenged in the WTO on the ground that it requires the USTR to act unilaterally in WTO-related
trade disputes in violation of DSU provisions requiring resort to multilateral WTO dispute
settlement, the United States was ultimately found not to be in violation of its DSU obligations.

H.R. 496 (Rangel) would create an Office of the Congressional Trade Enforcer (CTE) that would,
inter alia, investigate restrictive foreign trade practices in light of WTO obligations and call on
the USTR to initiate WTO dispute proceedings where the CTE finds that WTO violations have
occurred; express congressional dissatisfaction with WTO dispute settlement decisions finding
that the U.S. practice of "zeroing" (i.e., disregarding non-dumped sales in the calculation of
dumping margins) violates the WTO Antidumping Agreement and with decisions of the WTO
Appellate Body generally; and place restrictions on the Department of Commerce in
implementing the revised antidumping methodology that it adopted in 2007 in response to the
WTO "zeroing" decisions. S. 363 (Snowe), would give the U.S. Court of International Trade
exclusive jurisdiction to review de novo certain USTR determinations under Section 301 of the
Trade Act of 1974, which may in some cases involve the initiation and conduct of WTO disputes;
the bill would also amend various Section 301 authorities themselves.

Contents
Background ...............................................................................................................................1
WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding.....................................................................................1
Steps in a WTO Dispute..............................................................................................................3
Consultations (Article 4) .......................................................................................................3
Establishing a Dispute Panel (Articles 6, 8) ...........................................................................3
Panel Proceedings (Articles 12, 15, Appendix 3) ...................................................................4
Adoption of Panel Reports/Appellate Review (Articles 16, 17, 20)........................................4
Implementation of Panel and Appellate Body Reports (Article 21) ........................................4
Compliance Panels (Article 21.5) ..........................................................................................5
Compensation and Suspension of Concessions (Article 22) ...................................................5
Use of Multilateral Dispute Settlement Procedures ......................................................................6
Compliance Issues ......................................................................................................................6
"Sequencing" ........................................................................................................................6
Removal of Retaliatory Measures..........................................................................................7
WTO Dispute Settlement and U.S. Law ......................................................................................9
Legal Effect of WTO Decisions.............................................................................................9
Section 301 of the Trade Act .................................................................................................9
Recent Legislation .................................................................................................................... 11
111th Congress..................................................................................................................... 11
110th Congress.....................................................................................................................12

Contacts
Author Contact Information ......................................................................................................12


______________________________
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: ARRA 2009 AUTHORITATIVE RESOURCES (AMERICAN RECOVERY & REINVESTMENT ACT of 2009) [10 September 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
________________________________________________________________________

Congressional Research Service (CRS)

Authoritative Resources on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)
Kim Walker Klarman, Information Research Specialist
Julie Jennings, Information Research Specialist
September 10, 2009
http://opencrs.com/document/R40244/2009-09-10/download/1013/
[full-text, 11 pages]

Summary
The following list of authoritative resources is designed to assist in responding to a broad range of
constituent questions and concerns about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA),
P.L. 111-5. Links to the full text of the act, Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates, White
House fact sheets, and federal, state, and municipal government websites are included, along with
other useful information. This list reflects information that is currently available on the Internet. It
will be updated regularly as other relevant material becomes available.

Contents
Full Text of the Law....................................................................................................................1
Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Cost Estimates....................................................................1
White House Information............................................................................................................1
Fact Sheets...........................................................................................................................1
Recovery.gov ........................................................................................................................1
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Guidance ..................................................................2
Congressional Sources ................................................................................................................2
Government Accountability Office Reports .................................................................................2
Federal Agency Websites ............................................................................................................3
State Government Websites .........................................................................................................4
State Funding Allocations............................................................................................................7
State and Municipal Sources .......................................................................................................7
Non-Government Sources ...........................................................................................................8

Contacts
Author Contact Information ........................................................................................................8


______________________________
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] ILO: MAINSTREAMING GENDER ANALYSIS in VALUE CHAIN DEVELOPMENT [GUIDE] [July 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
________________________________________________________________________


International Labour Organization (ILO)
Job Creation and Enterprise Development Department EMP/ENTERPRISE

Making the strongest links: A practical guide to mainstreaming gender analysis in value chain development [July 2009]
by Linda Mayoux & Grania Mackie
http://www.ilo.org/empent/Whatwedo/Publications/lang--en/docName--WCMS_106538/index.htm
or
http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/---emp_ent/documents/publication/wcms_106538.pdf
[full-text, 113 pages]

A new publication from the ILO provides groundbreaking methods for incorporating gender concerns into the different stages of value chain analysis and strengthening the links essential for gender equality and promoting sustainable pro-poor growth and development strategies.


[excerpt]

FOREWORD
This Guide has been developed as a means to increase women entrepreneurs' capacity to
access markets and build sustainable enterprises that create decent work. It has been informed
by years of expertise in the ILO's work in Women's Entrepreneurship Development and Gender
Equality (WEDGE).
 ...

Applying this Guide effectively requires previous value chain analysis experience and a genuine
interest in identifying and addressing gender issues at different stages and levels of the value
chain analysis process. It also requires an openness to creative thinking about the challenges
which gender presents to conventional economic analysis and methods. It is a Guide that could
be used alongside other value chain materials and in particular the ILO's Guide on Value Chain
Development for Decent Work. The tools in this Guide can be used on their own or complement
participatory tools and quantitative and qualitative research from other manuals.

CONTENTS
FOREWORD v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vii
GLOSSARY viii
PURPOSE OF THE GUIDE ix
INTENDED USERS OF THIS GUIDE xi
INTRODUCTION: MAKING THE STRONGEST LINKS:
GENDER & VALUE CHAIN DEVELOPMENT 1
Gender equality, decent work and pro-poor development 3
BOX 1: PRO-POOR GROWTH, DECENT WORK
AND PRO-POOR DEVELOPMENT 4
Making the strongest links: Gender and value
chain development 5
PART 1: GENDER EQUITABLE VALUE CHAIN
DEVELOPMENT: CONCEPTS AND FRAMEWORKS 7
SECTION 1.1: VALUE CHAIN DEVELOPMENT:
APPROACHES AND VCD CYCLE 9
What is Value Chain Development? Different Approaches 9
BOX 2: WHAT ARE VALUE CHAINS? 9
GEVCAL Value chain development cycle 10
BOX 3: GEVCAL: UNDERLYING PRINCIPLES 11
SECTION 1.2: WHAT IS GENDER MAINSTREAMING?
GENDER DEFINITIONS AND CONCEPTS 15
BOX 4: GENDER OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS
IDENTIFIED BY GOWE MEETINGS IN KENYA 15
BOX 5: FEMALE WEAVER AS FAMILY WORKER 16
BOX 6: GENDER ANALYSIS: BASIC PRINCIPLES
AND DEFINITIONS 17
BOX 7: EQUALITY, EMPOWERMENT, AND EQUITY:
SOME EXPLANATORY EXAMPLES 19
SECTION 1.3: GEVCAL 'GENDER LENS' 21
BOX 8: GENDER LENS: ELEMENTS AND CHECKLIST
FOR DIFFERENT STAGES OF VALUE CHAIN
DEVELOPMENT 22
PART 2: GENDER-INCLUSIVE DESIGN: PRELIMINARY
SCOPING, MAPPING AND PARTICIPATORY PROCESS 23
SECTION 2.1: SCOPING THE VCD PROCESS: WHAT ARE
THE GENDER ISSUES? 25
BOX 9: WHAT GENDER ISSUES: SCOPING THE
INVESTIGATION 26
BOX 10: GENDER-INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE: SOME GUIDELINES 27
SECTION 2.2: PRELIMINARY MAPPING: WHO WHERE
CONTROLS WHAT? 28
BOX 11: DRAWING A PRELIMINARY MAP 29
SECTION 2.3: PARTICIPATORY PROCESS: WHY,
WHO AND WHEN? 33
Who should participate? Gender issues in stakeholder analysis 34
BOX 12: VERY DIFFERENT FEMALE STAKEHOLDERS:
EXAMPLES FROM ETHIOPIAN LEATHER INDUSTRY 37
How can women participate and when? Designing the process 39
BOX 13: PARTICIPATORY PROCESS 40
How can the benefits of stakeholder workshops be maximised? 41
PART 3: GENDER- ACCURATE INFORMATION: VALUE CHAIN
MAPPING, RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS 43
SECTION 3.1: VC ANALYSIS AND RESEARCH:
INTEGRATING METHODOLOGIES 45
Participatory action learning: core of the GEVCAL process 45
BOX 14: GENERAL ETHICAL GUIDELINES 46
Gender dimensions of the research process 47
BOX 15: GENDER ISSUES IN THE INVESTIGATION PROCESS 47
SECTION 3.2: HOW MANY PEOPLE GET HOW MUCH WHERE?
ADDING QUANTITATIVE INFORMATION 49
BOX 16: DEVELOPING THE MAP:
ADDING QUANTITATIVE INFORMATION 49
SECTION 3.3: WHY? ADDING QUALITATIVE INFORMATION 55
BOX 17: WHY AND HOW ARE GENDER INEQUALITIES
PERPETUATED? ADDING QUALITATIVE INFORMATION 57
BOX 18: INTERVIEW WITH MALE WEAVER IN A WAVERING
COOPERATIVE 58
PART 4: GENDER EQUITABLE PROPOSALS : ACTION STRATEGY 61
SECTION 4.1: FROM GENDER ANALYSIS TO GENDER
EQUITABLE RECOMMENDATIONS 63
Identifying the 'win-win' basket 63
BOX 19: SOME MUTUALLY REINFORCING LEVELS OF
INTERVENTION TO SUPPORT WOMEN HOMEWORKERS 65
Negotiating conflict of interest for win win strategies 66
PART 5: SUSTAINABLE PARTICIPATORY LEARNING CYCLE: MONITORING
CHANGES AND SUMMARY GENDER CHECKLIST 67
SECTION 5.1: IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING CHANGE 69
BOX 20: POSSIBLE INDICATORS FOR MONITORIING AND
EVALUATION 69
SECTION 5.2: SUMMARY CHECKLIST 72
BOX 21: GENDER CHECKLIST FOR DIFFERENT STAGES OF
VALUE CHAIN DEVELOPMENT 72
PART 6: OVERVIEW OF DIAGRAMMING TOOLS AND
TECHNIQUES 75
SECTION 6.1: USING DIAGRAMS 77
BOX 22: SOME DIAGRAM TOOLS FOR VALUE CHAIN
ANALYSIS AND STRATEGIC PLANNING 78
SECTION 6.2: ROAD JOURNEYS: STRATEGIC PLANING
AND SWOT ANALYSIS 82
SECTION 6.3: CIRCLE DIAGRAMS: MAPPING AND
STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS 87
SECTION 6.4: TREES: CHALLENGE TO STRATEGY
BRAINSTORMING TREES 91
REFERENCES AND RESOURCES 95


______________________________
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] ICTR (Rwanda): APPEAL of ZIGIRANYIRAZO; PLEA of NOT GUILTY by NDAHIMANA; JUDGE AGIUS SWORN IN; & GERMAN/UK AGREEMENT with ICTR

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
________________________________________________________________________

NOTE: The IWS Documented News Service is committed to helping the Rwanda Tribunal garner more attention world-wide. The lessons and legacy of ground-breaking legal matters related to the unspeakable events in Rwanda should not be forgotten. Humans, whether from rich or poor countries, must remain vigilant in curbing the motivations that lead individuals and groups to violent hatred and barbaric acts against a class of people. Consequently, items about this tribunal, which will end shortly after 2010, will appear from time to time on this news service.

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR)
www.ictr.org


PRESS RELEASE (non official - for media information only)
ICTR/INFO-9-2-612.EN
Arusha, 28September 2009
Appeals Chamber Hears Oral Arguments in the Zigiranyirazo Case
http://www.ictr.org/ENGLISH/PRESSREL/2009/612.html



PRESS RELEASE (non official - for media information only)
ICTR/INFO-9-2-611.EN
Arusha, 28 September 2009
Grégoire Ndahimana Pleads not Guilty
http://www.ictr.org/ENGLISH/PRESSREL/2009/611.html



PRESS RELEASE (non official - for media information only)
ICTR/INFO-9-2-610.EN
Arusha, 28 September 2009
Judge Carmel A. Agius Sworn In
http://www.ictr.org/ENGLISH/PRESSREL/2009/610.html


PRESS RELEASE (non official - for media information only)
ICTR/INFO-9-2-609.EN
Arusha, 25 Septemberl 2009
Germany and UK Sign Agreements with ICTR
http://www.ictr.org/ENGLISH/PRESSREL/2009/609.html


______________________________
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] NCHS/SSA: ELDERLY & DISABLED DATA w/ ENHANCED DATABASE

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
________________________________________________________________________

National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) & Social Security Administration (SSA)


NCHS Data Linked to Social Security Benefit History Data
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data_access/data_linkage/ssa.htm

NCHS has developed a record linkage program designed to maximize the scientific value of the Center's population-based surveys. NCHS is currently linking various NCHS surveys with the Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefit records collected from the Social Security Administration (SSA). Linkage of the NCHS survey participants with the SSA-OASDI and SSA-SSI data provides the opportunity to further study the elderly and disabled U.S. population.

 
Overview of NCHS-SSA Linkage

The NCHS health surveys were linked to five SSA Administrative Data Files: the Master Beneficiary Record (MBR) file, the Supplemental Security Record file (SSR), the Payment History Update System (PHUS) file, the 831 Disability Master File (831) and a special extract of summarized quarters of coverage (QOC) from the Master Earnings File. A quick overview of the files can be found in the Description of the Linkage and a more detailed description of these files and the variables contained in each file can be found in the NCHS-SSA data codebook.

    * Description of the linkage [PDF - 9 KB]
    * 1994-2005 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)
    * NHANES I Epidemiologic Follow-up Study (NHEFS)
    * Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III)
    * 1999-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
    * The Second Longitudinal Study of Aging (LSOA II)
    * 1985, 1995, 1997, & 2004 National Nursing Home Survey (NNHS)

 
Accessing the NCHS-SSA Data

    * Overview of request process [PDF - 17 KB]
    * Checklist for RDC application [PDF - 24 KB]
    * Helpful tips for RDC proposal writing [PDF - 64 KB]
    * NCHS Research Data Center (RDC)
    * Feasibility Study Data

 
Analytic/Programming Support

    * NCHS-SSA data codebook [PDF - 1.9 MB]
    * Description of SSA programs [PDF - 68 KB]
    * Analytic issues [PDF - 214 KB]
    * SSA linkage methodology report
    * Match rate table for NCHS-SSA linked data
    * Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ�s) regarding the NCHS-SSA OASDI/SSI benefit files (Coming soon)

 
Contact Information

After carefully reviewing web documentation, any remaining questions can be directed to:

    *

      Questions regarding access to the NCHS-SSA data files:
      Email: NCHS Research Data Center Data Query
      
    *

      Questions pertaining to SSA data file content and methodology issues:
      Email: NCHS Data Linkage Team

______________________________
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: COSTS UP WITHOUT HEALTH CARE REFORM [15 September 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 & Busness Roundtable

Health Care Reform: The Perils of Inaction and the Promise of Effective Action [15 September 2009]
http://www.businessroundtable.org/sites/default/files/BRT_Hewitt_HC%20Reform%20Report_Sept2009_FinalONLINE.pdf
[full-text, 13 pages]

Contents
Executive Summary ...................................................... 1
Getting More Value for Our Money ............................... 3
The Status Quo Is a Prescription for Failure ................ 4
Expanding Coverage Is Part of the Solution ................ 7
The System Malfunctions, but It Can Be Fixed .......... 12
A Tipping Point ........................................................... 19

FACT SHEET
http://www.businessroundtable.org/sites/default/files/Business%20Roundtable_Hewitt%20Report%20Fact%20Sheet_FINAL.doc


Press Release 15 September 2009
Business Roundtable Report Shows Health Care Costs Will Skyrocket to Nearly $29,000 per Employee in the Next Decade Without Effective Reform
America's Leading CEOs Say Maintaining the Status Quo On Health Care is Not an Option
http://www.businessroundtable.org/sites/default/files/Business%20Roundtable_Hewitt%20Report%20Press%20Release_FINAL.doc

Washington ­ A new report released today by Business Roundtable, an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies, finds that annual per employee health care costs will triple to nearly $29,000 over the next decade without significant marketplace reforms that reduce costs, expand coverage and improve delivery. These runaway costs, combined with a $56 billion cost shift to payors from uncompensated care, are threatening the employer-based system that currently provides coverage for the majority of Americans and their families.

"The debate over health care reform is at a critical juncture. Our report shows that without effective reforms, employment-based health costs will almost triple from $10,743 per employee today to $28,530 by 2019[1]," said Antonio M. Perez, Chair of Business Roundtable's Consumer Health and Retirement Initiative and Chairman and CEO of Eastman Kodak Company. "Maintaining the status quo is simply not an option. These costs are unsustainable and would put millions of workers at risk. But it's not too late to act. As business leaders, we are committed to safeguarding the coverage we currently provide, while creating a more efficient system. There are many reforms we can and should undertake to protect Americans and their health and well-being."

The findings of the report conducted with Hewitt Associates, Health Care Reform: The Perils of Inaction and the Promise of Effective Action, were highlighted this morning by Perez and Ivan G. Seidenberg, Chairman of Business Roundtable and Chairman and CEO of Verizon Communications.

"The costs of the U.S. health care system have put America's companies and workers at a significant competitive disadvantage in the global marketplace," said Seidenberg. "Failure to implement reforms that address inefficiencies will erode U.S. economic competitiveness at a time when our nation can least afford it."
Employers provide 60 percent of all health care coverage in the United States, with Business Roundtable's member companies providing health coverage to more than 35 million Americans.

The report finds that the current U.S. health care system provides incentives that are often misaligned and prevent traditional market forces from curbing costs. Business Roundtable believes the following structural changes are imperative if we are to reduce health care costs and create an efficient system. Policymakers must:
·        Reform the delivery system by changing Medicare reimbursement, shifting away from a fee-for-service model to one where the incentives are aligned to reward providers for quality and value in the delivery of coordinated care;
·        Address the rising cost of health care so that more Americans can afford coverage and so that the $56 billion cost shift from uncompensated care to payors can be eliminated; and
·        Reform insurance markets to create a competitive marketplace that guarantees people can obtain coverage and the coverage is without restrictions on pre-existing condition coverage.

"Business Roundtable is committed to working with Congress and the Administration to achieve effective, bipartisan health care reform that builds on the successes of the employer-based system while fixing what doesn't work," said John J. Castellani, President of Business Roundtable. "The time for health care reform is now, but how we get the job done has never been more important. The well-being of Americans and their families and the competitiveness of American companies are at stake."

To access the full report, visit < http://www.businessroundtable.org > www.businessroundtable.org.

# # #

[1] This figure assumes the current annual cost trend rate of 10.2 percent will continue for the next 10 years.


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