http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/services/Feed ${session.getAttribute("locale")} 5 http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:11450 Mainstream economists have recently discovered what heterodox economists have long known - that the study of psychology is useful in understanding human behavior and the success of socioeconomic policy. Many orthodox economists now accept that happiness exists, can be objectively measured, has important individual and social consequences and can be externally altered (Easterlin 1974; Kahneman 1999; Blanchflower and Oswald 2004; Layard 2005). The new research on well-being suggests that economics must now go beyond the nineteenth century psychological approach that characterizes neoclassical analysis, toward a more "Veblenian" or Humanistic approach to human psychology (Cordes 2005). The utilitarian (Benthamite) psychology that has dominated mainstream economic thought for the last century tries to explain and predict human behavior as the outcome of self interested action, which is manifest, ideally, in voluntary exchange. Yet, among other failures, this hedonistic psychology is largely incapable of explaining why economic growth has not improved well-being in the developed world; it sheds little light on the abundance paradox experienced in many rich countries today. The inability of economic growth to improve life satisfaction in the developed world is becoming increasing apparent. Given the social, psychological and environmental fallout of the last 50 years of economic growth, it is unclear whether "material abundance" in advanced nations is a reflection of social progress. Such questioning echoes the doubts of early socialist thinkers (such as Owen, Mill, Marx, and Keynes) that access to more goods will improve the human condition. Revealing the seamy side of growth, recent well-being research seriously questions whether the preponderant emphasis placed on production over the last 50 years has allowed individuals to "live wisely and agreeably well" (Keynes 1972). 2012-09-04T03:12:26.278Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:10712 This study examines the impact of female labour force attachment on health in Australia, where health care is socially provided. Longitudinal panel data from Women’s Health Australia is used in a metric analysis to capture the impact of labour market attachment on the physical component health score of relatively young and older female workers. After controlling for the healthy worker effect – wherein firms hire and retain the healthiest workers – and other health-related changes in socio-economic status, the analysis suggests that even a moderate attachment to the paid labour force has benevolent effects on health relative to no or marginal attachment. Given the existing social structure in Australia, remunerative work generally appears to enhance the health of young women and arrest the decline of health for older female workers. 2012-05-01T04:04:14.964Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:6444 The purpose of this chapter is to investigate how the institutionalist view of human behavior and the related critique of the neoclassical labor market elucidate our understanding of the societal division of labor. After reviewing the behavioral assumptions of neoclassical theory, the institutionalist view of human behavior is presented. This view focuses on Veblen's contention that labor is not irksome and that neoclassical theory is subverted by the realization that humankind possesses an instinct for workmanship. The institutionalist method is then used to comment on the inability of both workers and employers to obtain optimal work hours. In an effort to anticipate the future of work time, the analysis concludes with an examination of the history of work hours and current work time trends. 2010-06-11T02:20:01.205Z ]]> http://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:6401 This paper presents a new dynamic model of union density that exhibits multiple equilibria and pathdependency. The model builds upon (Freeman, R.B., 1998. Spurts in union growth: defining moments and social processes. In: Bordo, M., Goldin, C., White, E. (Eds.), The Defining Moment: The Great Depression and the American Economy in the 20th Century. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago) who identified the importance of union spending on organizing and business spending on opposing unions. It emphasizes the demand for union representation that depends on wage bargaining outcomes, the state of labor law, and socio-economic factors impacting public attitudes to unions. The model is used to provide a narrative account of the historical evolution of union density in the U.S. and to identify factors important for its future evolution. 2010-06-10T03:10:03.048Z ]]>