Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment

Since the first edition of this book, the world's financial system went through its greatest crisis for a century. What made this crisis unique is that severe financial problems emerged simultaneously in many different countries and that its economic impact was felt throughout the world as a result of the increased interconnectedness of the global economy. Written for undergraduate and graduate students of finance, economics and business, the second edition of this successful textbook provides a fresh analysis of the world financial system in light of the recent financial crisis. Combining theory, empirical data and policy, it examines and explains financial markets, financial infrastructures, financial institutions and challenges in the domain of financial supervision and competition policy. This new edition features three completely new chapters, one on financial crises, a second on financial innovation, and, on the policy side, a third on the monetary policy of the European Central Bank.

BACKGROUND: Breast and cervical cancer screening are widely recognized as effective preventive procedures in reducing cancer mortality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of socioeconomic disparities in the uptake of female screening in Italy, with a specific focus on different types of screening programs. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the 2004-2005 national health interview survey. A sample of 15, 486 women aged 50-69 years for mammography and one of 35, 349 women aged 25-64 years for Pap smear were analysed. Logistic regression models were used to estimate the association between socioeconomic factors and female screening utilization. RESULTS: Education and occupation were positively associated with attendance to both screening. Women with higher levels of education were more likely to have a mammogram than those with a lower level (OR = 1.28; 95% CI = 1.10-1.49). Women of intermediate and high occupational classes were more likely to use breast cancer screening (OR = 1.77; 95% CI = 1.55-2.03, OR = 1.63; 95% CI = 1.40-1.91) compared to unemployed women. Women in the highest occupational class had a higher likelihood of cervical cancer screening compared to those in the lowest class (OR = 1.81; 95% CI = 1.63-2.01). Among women who attended screening, those with lower levels of education and lower occupational classes were more likely than more advantaged women to attend organized screening programs rather than being screened on the basis of their own initiative. CONCLUSIONS: Inequalities in the uptake of female screening widely exist in Italy. Organized screening programs may have an important role in increasing screening attendance and tackling inequalities.

The article discusses the possible cost savings of contractingout refuse collection in the Netherlands. Our findings indicate that similar to foreigneconometric studies cost savings ofapproximately 15–20% apply to the Netherlands.Moreover, compared with the existing literature we show thatdifferent production technologies apply to internal municipal waste collection units and externalrefuse collection firms. Different cost functions have to be estimated for the sub-samples.Though significant cost savings exist on contracting out wastecollection, households will not experience these cost savings on a one to one basis. Privaterefuse collection firms must pay VAT while public entities are exempted. Thus, the fiscal systemhinders a more pronounced role for private refuse collection firms.

In this paper we analyse whether collusion exists in the Dutch waste collection market, which shows a high degree of concentration. Although scale effects might be in accordance with this market outcome, the question is whether concentration is in fact a result of fair competition. Using data for (nearly) all Dutch municipalities, we estimate whether collusion exists and what the impact is on tariffs for waste collection. The results indicate that high concentration increases prices and therefore (partly) offsets the advantage of contracting out. The presence of competing public firms might be essential to ensure more and fair competition.

Abstract This article focuses on the design of frontline work in public agencies involved in the delivery of activation programmes and services. More specifically, it raises the following questions: should we think of activation work as an administrative function or as a form of professional service provision? And does the design of activation work matter in terms of the effectiveness of activation services? In answering these questions, the article provides a meta-analysis of two strands of literature. First, we analyse the available literature reporting on studies of activation frontline work and its organisation and management in public agencies responsible for delivering activation programmes. Secondly, we look at those studies of the effectiveness of activation that focus on the impact of characteristics of frontline work and its organisation and management on activation policy outcomes. We conclude that although the desirability of a professional design of activation work meets relatively wide support among scholars, the feasibility of this professionalisation project is highly contested. In addition, the debate on the nature of the activation profession has only just started. Finally, evaluation studies show that activation work characteristics do affect the outcomes of activation programmes. Against this background, we conclude that a more prominent place of activation work on the research agenda of social policy scholars is recommendable.

Van Stel A. J. and Nieuwenhuijsen H. R. (2004) Knowledge spillovers and economic growth: an analysis using data of Dutch regions in the period 1987-1995, Reg. Studies 38, 393-407. The importance of knowledge spillovers for achieving innovation and economic growth is widely recognized. It is not straightforward which types of spillover are most effective: intra-sectoral spillovers or inter-sectoral spillovers. We investigate this controversy using a model of regional growth. The model also deals with the impact of local competition on innovation and growth. The model is estimated using sectoral data for 40 Dutch regions. We find that local competition is important particularly for economic growth in industry sectors (manufacturing and construction), while diversity, a proxy for inter-sectoral spillovers, is important particularly for growth in service sectors. We find no effect for specialization (a proxy for intra-sectoral spillovers).

Abstract: The present paper investigates the relationship between the development of the Ivorian stock market and the country's economic performance. Stock market development indicators were identified and used to calculate the Ivorian stock market development index. A set of control variables were also identified. The empirical results suggest that gross domestic product and stock market development are cointegrated when the control variables are included in the analysis. That is, there is a long-run relationship between these variables taken together. Moreover, there is a unidirectional causality running from stock market development to economic growth. Résumé: Le présent papier analyse la relation entre le développement de la Bourse des Valeurs d'Abidjan, BVA (Côte d'Ivoire) et la performance économique du pays. Des indicateurs du développement des marchés boursiers ont été identifiés et utilisés pour développer un indice de développement de la BVA. Un ensemble de variables de contrôle a été aussi identifié. Les résultats empiriques suggèrent que le PIB (mesure de la performance économique) et l'indice de développement de la BVA sont cointégrés. Ainsi, il y a une dynamique de long terme entre le développement du marché boursier, la croissance économique et les variables de contrôle pris ensemble. En outre, il y a une causalité uni-directionnelle allant du développement du marché boursier vers la croissance économique.

BACKGROUND: Unemployed persons have a poorer health compared with employed persons and unemployment may cause ill health. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of re-employment on quality of life and health among unemployed persons on social benefits. METHODS: A prospective study with 18 months follow-up was conducted among unemployed persons (n=4,308) in the Netherlands, receiving either unemployment benefits or social security benefits. Quality of life, self-rated health, and employment status were measured at baseline and every 6 months of follow up with questionnaires. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) modeling was performed to study the influence of re-employment on change in self-rated health and quality of life over time. RESULTS: In the study population 29% had a less than good quality of life and 17% had a poor self-rated health. Persons who started with paid employment during the follow-up period were more likely to improve towards a good quality of life (OR 1.76) and a good self-rated health (OR 2.88) compared with those persons who remained unemployed. Up to 6 months after re-employment, every month with paid employment, the likelihood of a good quality of life increased (OR 1.12). CONCLUSIONS: Starting with paid employment improves quality of life and self-rated health. This suggests that labour force participation should be considered as an important measure to improve health of unemployed persons. Improving possibilities for unemployed persons to find paid employment will reduce socioeconomic inequalities in health.

The introduction of market mechanisms is a crucial part of the new modes of governance emerging EU-wide in order to modernize the public sector. This article focuses on the introduction of marketization in the provision of activation services. The article draws on the Dutch experience, where activation services have been provided by private for-profit companies for several years now. In the first part, the emergence of new modes of governance is put in the context of welfare-state reforms aimed at making the welfare state more activating. Then, the marketization of activation services in the Netherlands is discussed as part of a wider institutional-reform process. Next, an assessment is made, based on several empirical sources, of the alleged advantages of the introduction of market mechanisms in the provision of social services. In the conclusion we argue that the effects of marketization strongly depend on the wider institutional and social-policy context in which it is embedded.

We analyse the Dutch waste-collection market for 1998–2005. We show that municipalities with unit-based pricing (UBP) or waste collection by private companies have lower costs. However, this cost advantage decreases over time as competition decreases, because of the introduction of the VAT-compensation fund, and because of contamination of waste streams. The cost advantage of private provision is shown to be much larger in the first years, while a longer duration of private production results in lower efficiency. An important conclusion from this study is that UBP, although its effectiveness deteriorates over time, is more effective in reducing cost than is contracting out. Moreover, we show that the effect of contracting out might have been overestimated in the previous literature because there is a correlation between the use of contracting out and UBP. Low incentive UBP systems, based on volume or frequency, are only effective when the municipality does not collect the waste itself.

Abstract Results of occupational exposure measurements on chemical agents are affected by a whole host of factors, including measurement duration, location of measurement, and measurement strategy. The information recorded with those results is additionally influenced by regulatory and company policies and individual preferences. The provision of adequate qualifying information with exposure measurements aids interpretation and increases the value of the data. Where organizations wish to share information, standard definitions of qualifying information are essential. This is especially true if the information is to be entered into a computerized database for long-term use. This article presents a proposal for core information to meet these aims. The core information is defined by the Working Group on Exposure Registers in Europe (WG) as “the minimum set of data elements which should form the basis of workplace exposure databases on chemical agents, so as to help towards validation, harmonisation and exchange of information on workplace exposure data.” The WG identified ten key categories of information: premises, workplace, worker activity, product, chemical agent, exposure modifiers, measurement strategy, measuring procedure, results, and reference. Thirty-four data elements forming the core information are placed in the appropriate key categories. The key categories and the data elements are given definitions to minimize misunderstanding. The information requirements aimed at facilitating the process of data exchange are also presented.

Respiratory exposure and dermal exposure of the hands and forearms to the pesticides chlorothalonil, thiophanate-methyl, thiram, and zineb during application and during crop activities have been measured on 18 farms for carnation culture in glass-covered greenhouses in the Netherlands. Farms were selected according to a "worst case" strategy with regard to dermal exposure during cutting of flowers. For 94 workers, the geometric mean dermal exposure rate during cutting (measured on long-sleeved cotton glove monitors) was 10.1 mg/hr (active ingredient per unit of actual working time) and during sorting/bundling of these flowers by 35 workers the dermal exposure rate was 7.3 mg/hr. The average concentration in air as measured by personal air sampling during cutting after a pesticide had been dusted was 0.07 mg/m3. For the same area, spraying a pesticide exposed the applicator to a dermal exposure seven times higher than dusting. However, during dusting respiratory exposure was higher. Generally, overall exposure is higher during re-entry activities than during application. From the observed levels of dermal exposure during harvesting (re-entry) and from toxicity data, health risk occurs after application of pesticides that are relatively toxic and show relatively good skin-penetrating properties at relatively high application rates. The respiratory exposure to dusted pesticides after re-entry is about as high as during application of these pesticides and may in some situations also result in health risks. Training and education of greenhouse workers on (personal) hygiene and use of protective gloves are advocated in order to reduce exposure.

A group of workers, occupationally exposed to lead and cadmium compounds (n = 53), was compared to a group of workers not exposed to these metals (n = 52). The average values of systolic, diastolic, and mean blood pressure were found to be higher in the exposed group (p less than 0.05). In contrast with the correlation between CdU and blood pressure, the correlation between PbB and systolic and mean blood pressure remained statistically significant after controlling for age and pulse rate (r = 0.22, p less than 0.05). The prevalence of potential hypertension (defined as systolic blood pressure greater than or equal to 160 mm Hg and/or diastolic blood pressure greater than or equal to 95 mm Hg and/or under treatment for hypertension) was higher in the exposed group, but the observed relative risk was not statistically significant: relative risk = 1.91 (95% confidence limits, 0.90-4.05). Furthermore, a significant correlation between PbB and Hgb (r = -0.28, p = 0.004) was observed. Differences in kidney function, as assessed in this study, were not detected.

Abstract The European Commission is one of the key European Union (EU) institutions and has been so ever since the early days of European integration. At the same time, its role and the manner in which it exercises its various functions differ widely between the various EU policy domains. This chapter will zoom in on one such specific policy domain, namely the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). Notably, since the Treaty of Maastricht in 1992, the European Commission has been one of the key players in the elaboration of this specific policy field in all its aspects: in the original setting up and further development of EMU, as an instigator of policy developments, and in applying its rules and regulations. At the same time, the exact nature and content of the role that the Commission plays has strongly evolved over the years. Most recently, the financial and economic crisis that erupted in 2007/2008 and its follow up have profoundly affected the policy area of EMU including the role the Commission plays in the EMU framework.

Usually intoxications with cholinesterase inhibitors are treated with large dosages of atropine. Furthermore oxime treatment, if applicable, is generally discontinued after one to two days. Two cases of severe anticholinesterase intoxication are presented. In both cases administration of oximes were part of the treatment. The first patient showed relapse cholinergic symptoms when administration of oximes was stopped after one day. In the second patient, where oximes were administered continuously during six days, no relapse cholinergic symptoms occurred. Based on pharmacological as well as on toxicokinetic considerations, and supported by animal experimental data, a continued oxime treatment, if appropriate, can be advocated, whereas the use of atropine should be minimized.

Abstract The effects of exposure pattern on the toxicity of acetaldehyde vapour were investigated in 4‐week inhalation studies. Male rats were exposed to 500 or 150 and 110 ppm for 6 h per day/5 days per week. One group of animals was exposed without interruption, the exposure of a second group was interrupted for 1.5 h between the first and second 3‐h periods, the exposure of a third group was similarly interrupted and for six 5 min periods exposure was increased sixfold. Peak exposures of up to 3000 ppm superimposed on 500 ppm acetaldehyde caused irritation and excitation, and reduced body weight gain. No such effects occurred after interrupted or uninterrupted exposure to 500 ppm acetaldehyde without peak loads. A reduced phagocytotic index of lung macrophages was found in each of the groups exposed to 500 ppm acetaldehyde, the effect being most marked in the group with superimposed peaks of 3000 ppm. Degeneration of the nasal olfactory epithelium was observed in rats uninterruptedly exposed to 500 ppm acetaldehyde. Interruption of the exposure or interruption combined with peak exposure did not visibly influence this adverse effect on the nose. No compound‐related effects were seen in rats interruptedly or uninterruptedly exposed to 150 ppm acetaldehyde can be considered a ‘no‐toxic‐effect level’ in male rats exposed for 6 h/day, 5 days/week, during a 4‐week period. It was concluded that the interruption of daily exposure by 1.5 h exposure‐free period or by the superimposition of six times 5 min peak exposure periods did not appreciably influence the nasocytotoxic potency of acetaldehyde. Futhermore for inhalation toxicity testing of irritants such as acetaldehyde the use of variable exposure patterns does not seem to produce more relevant toxicity data than the use of uninterrupted daily exposure to a fixed concentration.

Abstract This paper discusses the introduction of schemes aimed at employee empowerment within a context of strong industrial relations in India. The pressure put on profit margins by a competitive business environment is forcing an increasing number of Indian enterprises to view employee empowerment as a serious strategic option. Getting workers to take responsibility for shop-floor decisions over quality, safety, productivity and material use appears, at first sight, an alluring prospect. It would seem that men and women at the bottom of the pyramid cannot but be warmly appreciative of power-sharing arrangements from which they have something to gain, but there are forces at work which can actively obstruct or quietly subvert attempts at redistributing power. In this paper the focus is on some of the motives a trade union might have to do so. Keywords: Human Resources ManagementTrade UnionsIndustrial RelationsTrade Union DemocracyIndia

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether the provision of detailed information on participation and activity limitations, compared with medical information alone, influences the assessment of work limitations by physicians. METHODS: Three groups each of 9 insurance physicians used written interview reports to assess work limitations in 30 patients with low back pain or lower extremity problems. Each group was given different kinds of information on the patient: the first group received only medical information; the second group received detailed information on participation and activity limitations; and the third group was provided with both types of information. Agreement percentages within the groups and differences between the groups in scores given on the work limitation items of the Functional Ability List were measured. RESULTS: The groups showed no important differences in agreement percentages (mean percentage approximately 80%). The physicians who received either medical information or both forms of information indicated fewer work limitations compared with physicians using detailed information on participation and activity limitations. CONCLUSION: Information on participation and activity limitations provided by the patient has only limited influence on inter-rater reliability. However, there was a significant difference in scores on assessed work limitation items compared with medical history-taking alone. Therefore, in disability assessment interviews physicians should ask for medical information as well as detailed information on participation and activity limitations.

1 The effects of exposure of the skin to high concentrations of methyl bromide were studied in 6 cases, who had been unintentionally exposed. 2 Exposure to high concentrations of methyl bromide (approximately 40 g/m3) for 40 min can lead to redness and blistering of the skin. This cannot be prevented by wearing standard protective clothing. 3 Skin lesions show a preference for relatively moist skin areas. 4 Plasma bromide levels were highest immediately following exposure (mean 9.0 +/- 1.4 mg/l) and fell in subsequent hours (mean 6.8 +/- 2.3 mg/l 12 h after the exposure), suggesting absorption of (methyl) bromide through the skin. 5 No systemic effects were noted in this series. 6 Fumigation with methyl bromide should not be done in such a way as to require the presence of workers inside closed areas, where methyl bromide is released.

Since 2007, juvenile crime in the Netherlands has dropped. Changes in exposure or vulnerability to risk and protective factors could offer an explanation for this drop. Data from three cohorts of the Youth Delinquency Survey (2005, 2010, and 2015; n = 4,855) were used. ANOVAs were conducted to measure differences between cohorts in exposure to risk and protective factors. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to measure differences between cohorts in vulnerability. Results suggest that the 2015 cohort was less exposed to risk factors – eg alcohol use and delinquent peers – and more exposed to protective factors – eg perceived parental emotional support and monitoring – compared to previous cohorts. Serious delinquents showed stability across the cohorts in reported offenses. Changing social-cultural attitudes toward risk behaviors over time offer an additional explanation for the juvenile crime drop. Implications for the prevention of delinquency are discussed from the perspectives of both Preventive Science and Positive Youth Development.