<p>Today it is well known that institutions have a significant impact on growth and development. Less research has been investigating how institutions and in-stitutional quality affect trade. This thesis will specifically examine the effect contract enforcement has on bilateral trade. Secure property rights and con-tract enforcement are important for a country’s productivity and growth.</p><p>The empirical analysis is based on the gravity model of trade to examine what explains the trade flows and more importantly what impact contract enforce-ment has on the bilateral trade. Instead of using one of the many existing sub-jective measurements of contract enforcement, an objective measurement called Contract-Intensive Money (CIM) is used.</p><p>The results show that contract enforcement of the exporting country has a greater impact on exports than that of the importing country. As expected the institutionally dependent sector of machinery and transport equipment requires a higher level of contract enforcement than the standardized food sector. It implies that the exporting country will have a comparative advantage in export-ing complex products and import simple products. The results also indicates that the effect on exports is higher when there is development of a country’s poor contract enforcement rather than improvement in already high-quality contract enforcement in the partner country.</p>

Univ., Diss.--Aix-Marseille, 2005.

This dissertation consists of three essays. The first essay examines a general theory of information based on informal contracting. The measurement problem—the disparity of true and measured performances—is at the core of many failures in incentive systems. Informal contracting can be a potential solution since, unlike in formal contracting, it can utilize a lot of qualitative and informative signals. However, informal contracting must be self-enforced. Given this trade-off between informativeness and self-enforcement, I show that a new source of statistical information is economically valuable in informal con- tracting if and only if it is sufficiently informative that it refines the existing pass/fail criterion. I also find that a new information is more likely valuable, as the stock of existing information is large. This information theory has implications on the measurement problem, a puzzle of relative performance evaluation and human resources management. I also provide a methodological contribution. For tractable analysis, the first-order approach (FOA) should be employed. Existing FOA-justifying conditions (e.g. the Mirrlees-Rogerson condition) are so strong that the information ranking condition can be applied only to a small set of information structures. Instead, I find a weak FOA- justifying condition, which holds in many prominent examples (with multi- variate normal or some of univariate exponential family distributions). The second essay analyzes the effectiveness of managerial punishments in mitigating moral hazard problem of government bailouts. Government bailouts of systemically important financial or industrial firms are necessary ex-post but cause moral hazard ex-ante. A seemingly perfect solution to this time-inconsistency problem is saving a firm while punishing its manager. I show that this idea does not necessarily work if ownership and management are separated. In this case, the shareholder(s) of the firm has to motivate the manager by using incentive contracts. Managerial punishments (such as Obama’s $500,000 bonus cap) could distort the incentive-contracting program. The shareholder’s ability to motivate the manager could then be reduced and thereby moral hazard could be exacerbated depending on corporate governance structures and punishment measures, which means the likelihood of future bailouts increases. As an alternative, I discuss the effectiveness of shareholder punishments. The third essay analyzes how education affect workers’ career-concerns. A person’s life consists of two important stages: the first stage as a student and the second stage as a worker. In order to address how a person chooses an education-career path, I examine an integrated model of education and career-concerns. In the first part, I analyze the welfare effect of education. In Spence’s job market signaling model, education as a sorting device improves efficiency by mitigating the lemon market problem. In my integrated model, by contrast, education as a sorting device can be detrimental to social welfare, as it eliminates the work incentive generated by career-concerns. In this regard, I suggest scholarship programs aimed at building human capital rather than sorting students. The second part provides a new perspective on education: education is job-risk hedging device (as well as human capital enhancing or sorting device). I show that highly risk-averse people take high education in order to hedge job-risk and pursue safe but medium-return work path. In contrast, lowly risk-averse people take low education, bear job-risk, and pursue high-risk high-return work path. This explains why some people finish college early and begin start-ups, whereas others take master’s or Ph.D. degrees and find safe but stable jobs. / text

The main aim of this thesis is to investigate the processes of the psychological contract during organisational socialisation. Research on psychological contract tends to focus more on the content and breach of the contract. Very little is known about the formative stages of the contract. Very little attention has also been given to investigating the psychological contract together with organisational socialisation. Linking the two research areas would further our understanding of both the dynamic nature of the psychological contract. This is achieved by investigating the temporal changes of the psychological contract of new employees, pre-entry up to six months post entry into employment. The research also investigates the psychological contract from the employer`s perspective. It utilises Weick`s (1995) sensemaking properties as a methodological framework to better understand these processes. Consistent with the research aim and objectives and social constructionism, a qualitative methodology was adopted. The research used in-depth semi structured interviews to collect data supplemented with sitting in during recruitment interviews in one of the organisations, and data were analysed using template analysis. Periodic interviews were carried out every four to six months post entry. The research consists of two organisations, where each provided two groups for analysis. The findings show that after entry into the organisation, the psychological contract changes in a variety of ways influenced by socialisation into the organisation. A model based on the findings is presented and discussed in the discussion chapter. The research also makes a contribution (methodology) by adopting the sensemaking framework.

Sammanfattning Bredbands- och digital-TV-marknaden växer kraftigt och det är av stor betydelse ur konsumentsynpunkt att företagen tillämpar skäliga avtalsvillkor. I denna uppsats granskas ett antal standardavtal utfärdade av företagen på respektive marknad. Företagen vars villkor vi analyserar är Universal Telecom, Glocalnet och Tyfon Svenska AB som tillhandahåller bredbandstjänster, samt Viasat, Boxer och Canal Digital, som levererar digital-TV. Det rör sig i dessa fall om ensidigt upprättade standardavtal där konsumenten inte har möjlighet till individuell förhandling. Syftet med uppsatsen är att bringa klarhet i hur man går tillväga vid en oskälighetsbedömning av villkor i standardavtal riktade till konsumenter samt vilken lagstiftning som till övervägande del används inom området. Vi vill även utreda om dessa avtal innehåller oskäliga avtalsvillkor samt i förekommande fall presentera vilka slags oskäliga avtalsvillkor det rör sig om. Vid en oskälighetsbedömning skall hänsyn tas till god sed, tvingande konsumentskyddande lagstiftning, allmänna tvingande rättsprinciper, dispositiv lag samt om obalans uppkommer till följd av en avtalsbestämmelse. Avtalsvillkoren får heller inte vara vilseledande eller otydligt utformade. De lagar som främst tillämpas på dessa marknader är AVLK, EkomL, KkL och KtjL. De två sistnämnda lagarna är dock inte direkt tillämpliga utan får tillämpas analogt. Vid ingången av arbetet misstänkte vi att det kunde vara svårt att hitta oskäliga avtalsvillkor i så stora företag som vi faktiskt valt, men i samtliga av de granskade standardavtalen förekom oskäliga avtalsvillkor. En gemensam nämnare för företagen är att deras avtal innehöll villkor som på ett eller annat sätt oskäligt begränsade konsumentens rätt till ersättning, s.k. ansvarsbegränsningsklausuler. Alla företagen har även villkorsändringsklausuler som bedömts som oskäliga eftersom de ger näringsidkaren ensidig rätt att ändra i villkoren avseende pris, tjänst eller dylikt. Villkor som föreskriver formkrav vid uppsägning, reklamation eller andra meddelanden återfanns i inte mindre än tre av de granskade företagen. Detta är anmärkningsvärt eftersom det med stöd av förarbetena till KkL och tidigare avgöranden har bedömts som oskäligt en längre tid. En del av de undersökta bolagen försöker utnyttja sig av force majeure-klausuler för att slippa prestera sin del av avtalet. Force majeure är omständigheter som det inte kan rådas över, exempelvis krig och naturkatastrofer. Många av företagen utvidgar innebörden till att innefatta även andra omständigheter som ligger inom kontrollsfären.

Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucijos 48 straipsnis nustato, kad „kiekvienas žmogus gali laisvai pasirinkti darbą bei verslą ir turėti tinkamas, saugias ir sveikas darbo sąlygas, gauti teisingą apmokėjimą už darbą ir socialinę apsaugą nedarbo atveju“. Šis principas suponuoja kiekvieno žmogaus teisę laisvai pasirinkti darbą, laisva valia sutikti dirbti; teisę laisvai disponuoti savo sugebėjimais dirbti, galimybę laisvai pasirinkti veiklos rūšį ir profesiją. Laisvė pasirinkti darbą reiškia ir tai, kad asmuo savo noru gali nedirbti. Laisvės principas leidžia žmogui priimti sprendimus dirbti nuolatinį arba terminuotą darbą, dirbti ne visą darbo laiką, t.y. būti iš dalies užimtam. / The purpose of final work for master‘s degree is to examine the legal basis of seasonal work in the Republic of Lithuania, to estimate the particular regulatory features of seasonal work, to underline the main problems, to give recommendations and conclusions. The purpose of final work for master‘s degree is elaborated by setting problems that determined the following structure of final work for master‘s degree: in the first part of work the author analyses the theoretic aspects of seasonal work that are concerned with the concept of seasonal work and the labour contracts for seasonal work and their fundamental features; in the second part of final work for master‘s degree the author gives particular regulatory features for seasonal work in the Republic of Lithuania (making labour contracts for seasonal work, changing and breaking them, working hours and the time of breaks, the salary, also there is provided the analysis of seasonal, temporal, and terminal labour contracts).

Lietuvos viešojo ir privataus sektoriaus subjektai įgyvendina Europos Sąjungos struktūrinių fondų finansuojamus projektus, kurių įgyvendinimas yra sudėtingas administracinis procesas, ir kuriame santykiai tarp ES struktūrinės paramos įsisavinimo proceso dalyvių reguliuojami kontraktais. Šio proceso dalyvių sąveika kontraktų pagrindu yra probleminė ir sąlygoja tam tikrus neigiamus reiškinius. Oportunizmas kontraktiniuose santykiuose gali paveikti galutinius projektų rezultatus. Viešųjų pirkimų pažeidimai sudarant kontraktus, netinkamai parengtas kontraktas, kontrakto įsipareigojimų nevykdymas gali nulemti ES struktūrinių fondų lėšų pripažinimą netinkamomis, dalies ES struktūrinės paramos grąžinimą, ES struktūrinių fondų lėšų mokėjimo sustabdymą. Pastarasis procesas 2012 m. pradžioje buvo pradėtas taikyti Europos Komisijos Lietuvai. Taigi, darbo tikslas – išstudijuoti kontraktinių santykių įgyvendinant ES struktūrinių fondų finansuojamus projektus Lietuvoje problematiką. Darbo pradžioje analizuojami kontraktų taikymo įgyvendinant ES struktūrinių fondų finansuojamus projektus Lietuvoje teoriniai pagrindai: kontraktų sąvokos, tipai ir jų taikymo viešajame sektoriuje teorija. Taip pat analizuojama užsakovo – vykdytojo teorija, kurios sąvokos pritaikomos kontraktinių santykių įgyvendinant ES struktūrinių fondų finansuojamus projektus Lietuvoje analizei, ir kuri puikiai atskleidžia kontraktiniuose santykiuose dažniausiai pasitaikančias problemas. Sekančios darbo dalys (2, 3 ir 4)... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The private and public entities in Lithuania implement projects financed by the European Union Structural Funds. This action is a complex administrative process, in which the relationship between its participants is based on contracts. The interaction among the participants of this process, which is contract based, is problematic and leads to certain negative phenomena. The opportunism in contractual relationship may affect the final results of the project, moreover certain irregularities in public procurement while negotiating the contract, improper contracting, the violation of the contract may result in recognition expenses of the EU Structural Funds as ineligible. In addition, the returning of the EU structural support and the suspension of the funding of the EU Structural Funds is also undeclinable. The latter process was started in Lithuania by the European Commission at the beginning of 2012. Therefore, the main objective of the final thesis is to analyze the contractual relations in the implementation process of projects financed by the EU Structural Funds in Lithuania. The theoretical part of the paper deals with the application of the contracts in the implementation process of projects financed by the EU Structural Funds in Lithuania. For this reason, the concept and types of the contract, the theory of application contract in a public sector are analyzed. Additionally, the analysis of the principal – agent theory is presented, which concepts are perfectly adjusted... [to full text]

Globally competitive industries need to keep up with the rigorous technical innovations to ensure that they reach their targets in terms of customer satisfaction. In order to do this, businesses need to ensure that they have the correct skills and capabilities in order to meet their demands. Organisations encounter difficulties as they constantly need to replace lost skills, and once these skills have been replaced, they need to spend additional money to train and equip new employees adequately to perform the jobs that they are employed to do. These days, many companies find themselves in financial turmoil which emerges from large turnover rates. There has been a severe exodus of skilled employees in the utility industry. During the past twelve months, this industry has lost 1 479 critical skills. Scarce skills are expensive to retain and it is important that employee well-being take top priority to keep up with changing labour demographics. This upkeep relates to huge emphasis being placed on customer satisfaction. In order to keep customers happy, companies first need to keep their employees happy. Efforts made by the organisation to improve situational circumstances for its employees, will promote positive individual and organisational outcomes. Two dimensions contribute greatly to a positive employment relationship which is conducive towards promoting positive individual and organisational outcomes, namely a fulfilled psychological contract and fairness in allocating monetary rewards. Money should not be used as a Band-Aid; not everything can be remedied with money. However, money is important, although it is not the most important factor. Fulfilment of the different dimensions of the psychological contract, including, but not limited to opportunities for personal growth and career advancement, and a management-supportive work environment are vital towards establishing and maintaining a positive employment relationship. The aim of the study was to investigate the role of psychological contract breach, job satisfaction and turnover intention in the utility industry and to determine the outcomes thereof. A mixed method approach was used to gather data. In the qualitative study, managers and staff (N = 15) were interviewed and a thematic content analysis was performed. In the second phase of the study, the quantitative part, questionnaires were distributed to employees (N = 251) across all levels of the organisation. The measuring instruments used were the Psychological Contract Inventory, Job Satisfaction Scale and Turnover Intention Scale. The results of Article 1 (Chapter 2) showed that a total of 60% of participants made reference to the importance of money. Emphasis was also placed on other aspects, where 53% of participants made mention of leadership being an important driver of job satisfaction. Other themes also regarded as important toward curbing skills loss were the importance of personal excellence and the need for effective communication as drivers of job satisfaction. Article 2 (Chapter 3) found that a fulfilled balanced psychological contract displayed a strong, positive relationship with job satisfaction and that job satisfaction had a negative impact on turnover intention. These findings support the negative impact of psychological contract breach on job satisfaction and, in relation to this, job dissatisfaction positively impacted turnover intention. It was further found that psychological contract breach of the balanced contract had an indirect positive impact on turnover intent via job satisfaction. Recommendations for future studies were made. / MCom (Labour Relations Management), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

With an increased focus on health promotion and chronic disease prevention, municipal recreation centres are becoming predominant places for community members to become physically engaged in a diversity of pursuits (Barnes, Maclean, & Cousens, 2010). Recreation Organizations are increasingly searching for flexibility in programming and staffing (Connelly, Gallagher, & Gilley, 2007; Coyle-Shapiro & Morrow, 2006; Lepak, Takeuchi, & Snell, 2003) and new forms of employee-employer relationships are evolving. One of the most common trends in the provision of recreation services is the use of third parties (contractors) who place their employees with client organizations (municipal recreation centres) on a long-term basis. This study explores the perspectives of four contract recreation service provider employees and their experiences delivering recreation programs at municipal recreation centres. Transcripts were used to illustrate each individual’s perspectives using their own words wherever possible and the four interviews were compared to identify similarities and differences. Three themes emerged from the interviews: focus of commitment, impact of perceived organizational support (POS) and the dynamic with the recreation centre. It was found that contractor’s employees in this type role were generally affectively committed to a variety of aspects of their jobs (the participants in the program, their career and the program/activity itself). Incidents were also identified that influenced POS (organizational policies and procedures and those perceived by the employee). It was also found that interactions with municipal recreation centre staff impacted the employee significantly. Future studies should explore this topic further and specific attention could be given to the working relationship between the contractor employee and the recreation centre. Research should also be conducted from the perspectives of the two other key players in this study: the recreation centre (recreation programmer) and the recreation contract service provider. / Graduate / 0680 / 0523 / 0575

Taking into account that preliminary sale - purchase agreement of real estate is an important and frequently used legal instrument in Lithuanian legal relationship but legal research on such agreement is poor, also case law on this issue is not consistent, this master thesis is analyzing the problems of practical use of preliminary sale – purchase agreement of real estate in Lithuanian civil legal relationship. The place of such agreement in pre-contractual and general civil legal relationship, the obligatory and other conditions of such agreement, civil liability for the breach of preliminary sale - purchase agreement of real estate, the interaction between the preliminary and primary agreement are also discussed in this master thesis. The main tendencies of application of the preliminary sale – purchase agreement of real estate in Lithuanian law and the basic elements of such agreement are described in this master thesis, also the definition of preliminary sale – purchase agreement of real estate is given. The evaluation of essential features which distinguish the preliminary sale – purchase agreement of real estate and primary sale - purchase agreement of real estate, also the criteria which allow to distinguish them are discussed. Also a great attention is paid to payments according to terms and conditions of the preliminary sale – purchase agreement of real estate. Security of obligation deriving from such agreement is also an object of this master thesis. On the basis... [to full text]