Industry In Denmark Research Articles

The organizational history of the firm

Abstract The emergence of the factory system has been linked to the transaction cost disabilities of the putting-out form of organization that preceded the factory. In an attempt to explain why putting-out survived into the twentieth century, this article examines some of the transaction cost properties of a number of putting-out industries in Denmark. The conclusion reached is that organizational modes such as the factory system and putting-out do not have intrinsic transaction cost properties but are, in fact, quite adaptive. It was by a process of adaptation that the Danish putting-out industries were able to survive.

Incidence of cancer and mortality among employees in the asbestos cement industry in Denmark.

In a cohort study of the incidence of cancer and mortality among 7996 men and 584 women employed in the Danish asbestos cement industry between 1928 and 1984 over 99% were traced. Chrysotile asbestos was the only fibre type used until 1946, when amosite and (in 1952) crocidolite were also introduced. Chrysotile constituted 89%, amosite 10%, and crocidolite 1% of the asbestos used. During the first 25 years of manufacture the exposure levels were high, especially in areas where the asbestos was handled dry. Measurements from 1948 indicate that the fibre levels may have ranged from 100 to 1600 times over the present Danish threshold limit value of 0.5 fibre/ml. In 1973 more than 41% of personal samples were higher than 2 f/ml. About 76% of the workforce left the factory within five years of starting employment. A total of 1346 deaths and 612 cases of cancer were observed in the cohort between 1943 and 1984. Among employed men the overall mortality (O/E 1.18; 95% CI 1.12-1.25), cancer mortality (O/E 1.32; 95% CI 1.19-1.46), and overall incidence of cancer (O/E 1.22; 95% CI 1.12-1.32) were significantly increased compared with all Danish men. This was not so among employed women. For men, significant excess risks were found for cancer of the lung (O/E 1.80; 95% CI 1.54-2.10), pleura (O/E 5.46; 95% CI 2.62-10.05), mediastinum (O/E 5.00; 95% CI 1.01-14.61), stomach (O/E 1.43; 95% CI 1.03-1.93), and other male genital organs (O/E 3.03; 95% CI 1.11-6.60). The mortality was significantly increased for men for non-malignant pulmonary diseases (O/E 1.63; 95% CI 1.33-1.98). Among the group of asbestos cement workers with first employment 1928-40 an excess risk of laryngeal cancer was found (O/E 5.50;95% CI 1.77-12.82). A total of 12 cases of pleural and one of peritoneal mesotheliomas was observed when the original notification forms were reviewed for all patients with cancer in the cohort.

Acceptability of risk — a Danish case

The only Danish chlorine plant, situated in Copenhagen, has been under study since 1937. In 1987 the Environmental Appeal Board (EAB) dealt with the case. It found that the standard of the plant was second to none. It demonstrated that the societal risk of railway tanker transport of chlorine through Copenhagen was of a similar size as the risk to society of the chlorine stored at the plant. It recommended a general survey of dangerous installations. Finally, it confirmed the decision of the Agency of Environemental Protection (AEP) that the production and storage could continue. An opposition majority in Parliament, however, carried a resolution that a law closing the plant should be proposed. The law was duly proposed, but since then an extraordinary parliamentary election has modified the basis of the coalition Government. The new Minister of Environment will not repropose the law, preferring first to make a general survey of the risks in connection with the chemical industry in Denmark.

The Printed Circuit Board Industry in Denmark

Although in Denmark the electronics industry, in its wider context, can be traced back to the early years of this century and had by 1925 developed sufficiently to form a trade organisation, its main expansion came in the years after World War II. Despite the nation's international reputation for good interior and industrial design, electronics have played a remarkably low profile. About 60% of the total production falls in the category of ‘professional electronics’, while slightly more than 20% covers consumer and entertainment products, the balance being components. The emphasis on export is high, with the Danish electronics production sector exporting some 85% of its output.

Physico-Chemical Processing Options

This paper describes physico-chemical treatment of inorganic toxic wastes at the centralized waste treatment facility in Denmark. The paper also reports on some alternative processes and development trends for detoxification of this type of waste. Denmark was the first country to introduce centralized treatment of hazardous waste on a national scale. The centralized chemical treatment plant in Denmark, called "Kommunekemi", is located at Nyborg in the middle of the country. Besides a physico-chemical treatment plant for inorganic waste, it also operates incinerators for organic hazardous waste, waste oil recovery and a controlled landfill. Industry in Denmark is characterized by a few big companies and a lot of medium and small sized companies. In most cases, Danish medium sized companies would be looked upon as small ones when comparing on an international basis. The big facilities normally have wastewater treatment plants of their own and may just deliver small quantities of some odd types of wastes to the centralized plant, Kommunekemi. The smaller facilities, which do not have waste treatment, deliver all their waste for external treatment at Kommunekemi. Naturally this system encourages the waste producers to minimize their waste production by re-circulation and/or re-use as far as possible with respect to production quality and internal and external environment. Centralized waste management systems of the same type as in Denmark are also in operation in Sweden and Finland.

Production Trends in Manufacturing Industries in Denmark Estimated from Business Survey Data

The advantage of business surveys as compared to quantitative statistics is that they provide very quick information about economic development. The price of this rapid information is a lack of quantitative data about the trend in the variables surveyed. Business surveys of manufacturing industries are published in Denmark on a quarterly basis. These business surveys were used to investigate whether quantitative data about the changes in economic variables could be derived from the business survey data by means of a quantification method based on some assumptions about the responses to the survey. The results of this study were found to be rather promising.

Effective practical information systems

Shortly after this series of articles started, we received from Novo Industries in Denmark a copy of their corporate report. Following correspondence with Kare B Dullum, Novo's Financial Executive, we received permission to reproduce part of that report. Management for Profitability and Interest Group Accounting, written by Kare Dullum, is a section of Novo's report which shows the flow of funds through a company to the various interest groups. The article demonstrates the basic decisions on financial management that are needed for integrated decision making on marketing, production, research development and administration. For this series of articles the figures used in earlier articles have been fitted in to the table presentations. The text of the article is self explanatory and readers of the previous articles in this series will recognise the different way of presenting the figures.

Problems in the organization of clinical pharmacology in Denmark.

Until now, clinical pharmacology has not existed as a distinct discipline in medical schools, hospitals, and the pharmaceutical industry in Denmark. Various sources and their expected relative contributions to the establishment of clinical pharmacology in Denmark are discussed and evaluated. Danish regulatory statutes regarding drug registrations are described, and anticipated charges occasioned by Denmark's entry into the European Economic Community are discussed.

Firm size and export performance

Economic analysis based on the Theory of the Firm shows that the exporting firm can be conceptualized as a discriminating monopolist, facing several demand curves. The analysis shows that under these conditions, and assuming certainty, the larger the firm, the higher the ratio of exports to total sales. When uncertainty is introduced into the model, the conclusion regarding the relationship between size and the ratio of exports to sales is reinforced. Large firms can afford to assume more risks than small ones; in addition, their risks from foreign operations are less than those of small firms because the large firms benefit from economies of scale in foreign marketing. Consequently, the risk premium demanded by large firms from foreign marketing is less than the premium insisted upon by small firms. Large firms therefore tend to export a higher share of their output. These theoretical constructs are confirmed by empirical analysis performed on a sample of several hundred firms from six industries in Denmark, Holland and Israel. The figures confirm, with few exceptions, that the size of firms is indeed positively correlated with the ratio of exports to sales. The normative conclusion which can be drawn from the above is that economic policy-makers who wish to increase the export potential of industrial firms, should adopt policies which will encourage large firms to come into being through mergers, take-overs or simply fast growth.

The potato industry in Denmark

Denmark grows a considerale amount of potatoes. The potatoes are grown on medium sized or small dairy farms in the sandy parts of Denmark where potato growing is more profitable than growing of most other crops. The Danish climate is, generally speaking, well adapted to potato growing. Two distinct types of potatoes are grown, namely table potatoes and industrial potatoes. Denmark usually exports large amounts of seed and table potatoes. One disadvantage is a thin coating on the tubers of a fine dark humus which is hard to get off. Large amounts of potatoes are used for processing, mainly starch, but also for alcohol, potato granules, chips and sticks.

The history of industry in Denmark

Abstract Danish historians, like those of other countries, have increasingly devoted their attention in the 20th century to the study of the economic and social aspects of historical evolution, in the belief that these aspects are of fundamental importance to the understanding of political and cultural history—indeed to the deeper understanding of the whole course of history. At present, however, the only complete account of the history of economic life in Denmark is one which appeared in a German series dealing with a number of different European countries. The series included Französische Wirtschaftsgeschichte by Henri Sée, Holländische Wirtschaftsgeschichte by E. Baasch, Norwegische Wirtschaftsgeschichte by O. A. Johnsen, and Allgemeine Wirtschaitsgeschiclite by E. Kulischer.

Pig Breeding and the Bacon Industry in Denmark

Pig Breeding and the Bacon Industry in Denmark

Silicosis in the pottery industry in Denmark

Silicosis in the pottery industry in Denmark