bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Public-Service Employment Program
Authors: Cook R F
Published: October 2006

In this paper, a four-year field network study of the public-service employment program under the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act is described. The emphasis of the study was on displacement—the extent to which states and local governments used federally subsidized workers in place of locally funded workers. A description of the field network methodology is also included.
Locational Surplus and the Redistributive Role of National and Subnational Governments
Authors: Grewal B S , Mathews R L
Published: October 2006

In this paper the implications of locational surplus, defined as the benefits a citizen perceives as accruing to him/her by remaining in his/her present jurisdiction rather than migrating to another jurisdiction, are examined with respect to the traditional view that redistributive policies cannot be carried out effectively by subnational governments. Whether responsibility for redistributive policies should be assigned to national or to subnational governments is shown to depend on the extent to which there are disparities in economic and social conditions among subnational jurisdictions on the one hand, and on the extent to which distributional preferences differ among jurisdictions on the other.
The Division of Regional Industrial Policy Powers in Britain: Some Implications of the 1984 Policy Reforms
Authors: Armstrong H W
Published: October 2006

In this paper the implications are considered of the 1984 reforms to the regional policy schemes operated by the Department of Trade and Industry and the European Community for the division of regional industrial policy powers. The division of regional industrial policy powers between the European Community, the national government, and regional and local organisations has been the subject of little debate in Britain. The 1984 reforms are likely to weaken the role of the national government relative to the other participants. The relative position of the national government has been slowly weakening since the early 1970s. In addition, changes in regional policy fashions in favour of assisting service industries, innovation, and small firms are likely eventually to favour further decentralisation of regional industrial policy powers.
Reexamining Old Problems with New Methods: Portbury Revisited
Authors: Clarke G P , Clarke M , Wilson A G
Published: October 2006

It is now twenty years since the Ministry of Transport examined the feasibility of constructing new harbour facilities at Portbury, Bristol. Part of that analysis was based on the use of a gravity model. Since 1966 significant progress has been made in many aspects of urban and regional modelling. There is now a basic competence in many aspects of modelling which could not have been envisaged in the early days. So far, however, there have been few empirical applications of these latest techniques. The original Portbury problem and its associated data sets provide an excellent opportunity to examine the new set of models in a real public-planning context. The aim here is not to assess critically the original Portbury decision per se—this is done in a number of other studies—but more to use the models in an illustrative way showing how improvements to existing appraisal methods can be made with careful thought and application.
Economic Development in Britain: A Vacuum in Central-Local Government Relations
Authors: Young K
Published: October 2006

Local authority involvement in economic matters has become widespread since the early 1970s. Recent developments in the pattern of local economic activity have been the increasing use of section 137 of the Local Government Act 1972 to fund local programmes, the spread of local authority involvement from the Assisted Areas to the more prosperous regions, and the increasing interest shown by the smaller shire districts, often in rural areas. The portfolio of possible interventions has also changed, bringing a new diversity to the practice of local economic development. Whereas central government has in the past eschewed the temptation to exercise close controls over these activities, the new diversity of local economic initiatives presents it with new dilemmas. It can no longer be assumed that such initiatives will be supportive of central government's spatial or sectoral policies. This vacuum in central-local relations is unlikely to remain, and renewed pressures to grant specific economic development powers to local authorities can be expected. If these claims are accepted, central government will be drawn inexorably into local economic affairs by the need to develop the capacity of local authorities to intervene effectively in pursuit of economic and employment goals.
Economic Development: Changing Practices in a Changing US Economy
Authors: Haider D
Published: October 2006

In this paper, economic development is viewed in the context of a rapidly changing US economy. It is argued that economic development is no longer a policy or functional reserve of the national government, nor even an activity exclusively public. All sectors and governmental levels are currently engaged in its practice. Economic development, in effect, has become everyone's business although obvious inadequacies exist in defining what it is, let alone results. The paper provides an historical overview of national involvement in economic development and covers the recent debates over the federal government's appropriate role in fostering development. The remainder of the article traces the evolving and dynamic functioning of US States in the development arena, and the strategies and actions they are taking for strengthening their individual economic foundations. Yet, it is concluded that promising and creative as these ventures may be, it is unclear how much of a measurable impact they have had set against broader economic forces and trends. What is more clear, however, is that US States have emerged at the center of public, private, and intergovernmental activities aimed at responding to changes in the US economy.
Urban Economic Development and Intergovernmental Policymaking in West Germany
Authors: Konukiewitz M
Published: October 2006

Urban industrial decline has provided a challenge to the traditional policy structures for urban and regional policies in West Germany. Policy responses at the federal level are restrained by the need to maintain a delicate regional balance and limited to incremental adaptations of existing programs. Deeper effects can be observed from nontargetted sectoral industrial policies. The institutional framework of cooperative federalism is now under critical review. As a result, the federal government is likely to limit its future responsibilities in the field of urban development.
Taxation of Business by US State and Local Governments
Authors: Gold S D
Published: October 2006

The US federal system is undergoing significant change in numerous respects, one of which is the tax treatment of business. Taxes with an initial impact on business have traditionally provided a large amount of revenue to state and local governments, and they still do. But the business share of state and local taxes has decreased significantly compared with what it was several decades ago. Moreover, since interstate tax competition has intensified, the business share of taxes may continue to decline. The intensification of interstate tax competition is related to the increased priority of economic development as a goal of state policy. The severe unemployment of the early 1980s is probably the single most important factor in heightened concern about job creation. The increased openness of the US economy—implying especially acute problems for state economies dependent on heavy industry and farming—has also contributed. The decrease in federal corporation tax rates has made state taxes loom larger, and corporations have become more sophisticated about playing states against each other. In this paper, recent trends in business taxation are described and analyzed. The concern is not with evaluating these trends or suggesting how future policies might be changed. The paper may, however, contribute to the formulation of future policies by bringing together in one place a brief discussion of the disparate trends that have been affecting how state and local governments tax business.
Measuring the Fiscal Pressure on English Local Authorities under the Block Grant System
Authors: Gibson J G , Watt P A , Smith P
Published: October 2006

It is widely accepted that local authorities in England have been placed under increasing fiscal pressure during the 1980s by the block grant system combined with the rising level of grant penalties. Controversy surrounds the question of which local authorities have been worst treated by the new system. In this paper it is shown how the measurement of relative fiscal pressure has become much more complex than under the previous grant system, and published results on a suggested measure of fiscal pressure between 1980/81 and 1984/85 are presented.
Local Government Fiscal Behaviour and Intergovernmental Finance in a Period of Slow National Growth: A Comparative Analysis
Authors: Wolman H , Goldsmith M
Published: October 2006

Most recent analysts suggest that many local governments are facing serious fiscal difficulties. This article contains reviews of the experience of nine nations, between 1976 and 1982, in terms of the impact of slow economic growth on local expenditures, particularly in terms of changes in intergovernmental grants, and this is followed by an examination of the kinds of revenue and expenditure adjustments which local authorities have made in the light of these changes.

Generally speaking, the results reveal that although national government expenditure patterns vary during the latter part of the review period, in all cases grants were singled out as a target for expenditure reductions, and that there were few distinctions between federal and unitary systems. In most countries, local authorities responded by increasing local tax receipts, and most did not suffer any decline in total revenues in real terms, though revenues increased less rapidly during the latter part of the review period when economic growth was generally slower. Revenues were maintained largely by increases in nontax revenues and then by increases in taxes. However, the most intriguing finding is the variability in the behaviour of local fiscal systems in the nine countries studied. The paper is concluded with some tentative suggestions of explanations for this variability.
Regionalism: A Reform Concept and its Application to Spain
Authors: Hebbert M
Published: October 2006

Regionalism is a notably elusive political idea. In the paper an attempt is first made to identify various propositions that are general among contemporary European regionalists: A commitment to territorial reform of a nonfederal character, a belief that regional autonomy promotes political stability and spreads prosperity, and a notion of complementarity between European integration and internal devolution. In the second part of the paper the relevance of these propositions to Spain are considered.
The Autonomous Government of Catalonia
Authors: Bayona A
Published: October 2006

This paper contains an outline of the relations of the Autonomous Communities to the Spanish State, and emphasizes the specific character of Catalonia. The Catalan Statute of Autonomy is discussed, accompanied by a description of the institutions of self government: The Parliament, the President of the Generalitat, the Executive Council, and other syndicates. Next, an outline of the political forces and developmental requirements in Catalonia since the Statute is given, which concludes with an assessment of future prospects. Problems for the future are identified, particularly in the tendency to standardize between the Autonomous Communities, in the operations of the Court (which has limited autonomous actions), in the system of finance, and in the entry to the EEC.
Regional Government: The Italian Experience
Authors: King R L
Published: October 2006

This paper is a review of Italy's stuttering progress towards regional autonomy. At the unification of Italy in 1860, a centralised administrative structure was adopted, as prescribed by the Piedmontese Constitution of 1848. Centralisation of political power reached its apogee during the Fascist period. Regionalist sentiment resurfaced strongly after the last war and gained formal expression in the 1948 Republican Constitution, which provided for the creation of five ‘special’ and fourteen (later fifteen) ‘ordinary’ regions. The special regions—regions of special linguistic or political sensitivity (Valle d'Aosta, Trentino-Alto Adige, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Sicily and Sardinia)—were established between 1948 and 1963, but delays orchestrated by the Christian Democrat-dominated central government, reluctant to relinquish its power, postponed the establishment of the ordinary regions until the 1970s, when pressure from the Socialist Party prevailed. The legislative powers of the regions are of three forms: Exclusive (available only to the special regions), complementary, and integrative, the order representing progressively diminishing elements of decisionmaking autonomy. Several regions in central Italy have elected Communist regional governments. However, hopes that the regional governments would be instrumental in ending corrupt and inept government and eradicating regional disequilibria, have mostly been misplaced, although some progress has been made, especially in the northern regions, in the fields of administrative reform, social service organisation, and regional economic planning. The principal reason for lack of progress is the continuing central government control over regional government funds. In many regions considerable amounts of unspent funds have accumulated owing to a combination of political stalemate at the regional level and central government veto. Special attention is given in this paper to the relationship between regional autonomy and (1) local government, and (2) regional planning. To conclude, the present state of play represents an uneasy compromise between the two contradictory historical forces of centralism and regionalism, present since unification. Although there has been a significant departure from the rigid centralisation of the past, the retention of most of the important powers by the central government frustrates the ambitions of the regions to really organise their own affairs.
The Dynamics of Legislation in Relation to Regions and Localities, with Special Reference to Austria—A Preliminary Statement
Authors: Stiglbauer K
Published: October 2006

This author deals with processes of lawmaking, the dynamics of legislation in time, and the relationship between legislation and spatial development. The question is posed as to which way the legislation promotes, regulates, or prohibits the use of space (natural resources, given or new locations, transport routes, etc). Approaches to set societal norms in this realm became common in the development of Raumordnung (regional policy) as a public task, as it has been developed for example in the Federal Republic of Germany, in Switzerland, and in Austria. The author first introduces political theory from the perspective of General Systems Theory, and then discusses the dynamics of legislation in Austria 1958–1985. Two case studies are detailed: One of control of air pollution, and one of regional and local planning.
Regional Policy in the European Community: Its Impact on Regional Policies and Public Administration in the Mediterranean Member States
Authors: Tömmel I
Published: October 2006

When the European Community (EC) created the European Fund for Regional Development (EFRD) in 1975, regional policy was established at an international level for the first time ever. Because of the chosen instruments and the ‘additive’ mechanism of implementation—via the administrative bodies of the member states—this policy seemed at first to mean little more than a reinforcement of regional policies at a national level. Since then, the EC has considerably intensified its regional policy and diversified its instruments. However, the recent reforms of the Community's regional policy serve not only to achieve (certain) development effects with respect to the economic structure of less-developed areas, but also as a means of reorganizing governmental (planning) bodies and regional development policies in the member states, that is, as a means of inducing modernization and differentiation of state intervention in the countries concerned.

Thus, the EC intervenes’ in the affairs of the member states: Not in the shape of more or less authoritarian intervention by a superior body—EC powers do not permit this—but via the indirect effect of market mechanism. Subsidies are the economic incentive to collaborate.
Definitions of ‘High Technology’ Used by State Programs in the USA: A Study of Variation in Industrial Policy under a Federal System
Authors: Thompson C
Published: October 2006

Rationales for high technology development programs are suggested, and results to a survey of how state and federal agencies concerned with high technology development define such industry are presented. The general similarity found between federal and state definitions contradicts theoretical expectations of variation, and suggests the natural federal logic may be suppressed in this case. Speculation is made that state assistance is in general not following the directions set by Japan.
Tax Reform in English-Speaking Countries
Authors: Mathews R L
Published: October 2006

In this paper, six papers are introduced which deal with issues in tax reform and with recent developments in taxation policies in five English-speaking countries—the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States of America (USA), Australia, and New Zealand. It is shown that the structure of the taxation systems in these countries, in particular the dominating influence of a highly progressive personal income tax, has played a major part in inducing widespread tax avoidance and evasion, and thereby in corrupting and discrediting the tax systems of the countries in question; so that they operate perversely with respect to equity, to efficiency, and to the other objectives of taxation policy. In the paper the author argues that tax effectiveness needs to be elevated to a position of overriding importance in the design of taxation policies; outlines the kinds of reforms which are necessary in order to give effect to generally accepted economic criteria; and discusses the importance of political and other constraints on tax reform.
Criteria for Tax Reform
Authors: Grewal B S
Published: October 2006

In this paper the major criteria that determine the economist's perspectives on tax reform are examined. The assumptions, the implications, and the interrelationships of equity, efficiency, simplicity, and effectiveness are considered, and the question is asked as to whether these criteria together constitute a theory of tax reform. Distinguishing between tax design, which largely abstracts from the practical considerations of political decisionmaking and public acceptance, and tax reform, which confronts these realities, it is concluded that economic criteria by themselves do not constitute a theory of tax reform. Tax reform, it is argued, is essentially concerned with structural changes in a tax system that are achievable in a given set of circumstances. Of necessity, economic criteria often have to be balanced against political judgments about the public acceptability of proposals. Of equal importance, it is shown that second-best choices are inevitable, even in the context of pure tax-design, simply because of the conflicts between the various criteria and the impossibility of meeting the informational requirements of optimal choices. It is also noted that, in the absence of a common denominator, trade-offs between different criteria remain essentially arbitrary.
Tax Reform in Australia and New Zealand
Authors: Groenewegen P D
Published: October 2006

During 1985, the Labour governments in both Australia and New Zealand proposed a tax mix switch policy in which a broad-based tax on consumption expenditure (at the retail level in Australia, of the value-added type in New Zealand), at a uniform rate, was to provide scope for substantial reduction, by the means of rate reduction, in personal income tax. This major tax reform was to be accompanied, in both countries, by an abandonment of the classical system of company taxation and its replacement by a system of full imputation and the taxation of employee fringe-benefits in the hands of the employer. The tax mix switch part of the proposed tax reforms only went ahead in New Zealand, and in this paper the author investigates the reasons for this phenomenon as an exercise in the political economy of tax reform. Apart from enabling some testing of Prest's hypothesis, that there are advantages for tax reform in a country not having a federal or a written constitution, the required background to this examination is presented, by means of an outline of the fundamentals of the Australian and New Zealand tax systems, and of the proposals put forward for eventual implementation. Likewise the processes by which tax reform was achieved in the two countries are examined, and it is argued that differences in political institutional settings explain the different outcomes. The author also comments on the alternative tax reform strategies which are implicit in the proposals currently being implemented in Australia and New Zealand.
Urban Regeneration in London Docklands: A Five-Year Policy Review
Authors: Church A
Published: October 2006

An urban development corporation was established in London Docklands in 1981. Recently, central government has announced its intention to set up similar organisations elsewhere in Britain, and, therefore, a review of the impact of the London Docklands' initiative is appropriate. In this paper I outline the impact of the urban development corporation, in terms of economic regeneration and of the effect on local unemployment. It is argued that demand-led economic regeneration, based on the redevelopment of derelict land, has changed the nature of the local economy, although as yet it has not had any significant effect on the numbers of jobs in the local economy, because of continued decline in existing industries and because of pressures on firms to relocate. Local unemployment has gone on increasing, and evidence is presented to show that labour-market adjustment mechanisms and recruitment patterns severely limit the impact of economic regeneration on unemployment in Docklands. Even major developments, such as the proposed office complex on Canary Wharf, will have only a relatively small effect on local unemployment. Local labour-market intervention has been slow to occur, limited in its aims, and uncoordinated. Urban development corporations are useful policy devices for the encouragement of large-scale land redevelopment, but in their present form they do not represent a complete solution to the economic and employment problems of depressed urban areas.
Remarks on the Geographical Nature of Social Infrastructure Provision in a Centrally Planned Economy
Authors: Ciechocińska M
Published: October 2006

In this paper the regional organization of collective services in socialist countries is discussed. Social infrastructure is a key aspect of regional activity. Within socialist economies shortage, or unsatisfied demand, is a driving force which stimulates natural tendencies to management stabilization in which bureaucratic structures control the distribution of goods and services. There are two rival models of regional infrastructure provision: Orientation to places of production, or orientation to places of residence. Within either model a hierarchical structure is necessary. It is becoming necessary in socialist countries to appraise the administrative consequences of social goods provision as well as of productive forces. This creates major challenges to link the productive and residence orientation of administration. This, in turn, suggests a need for a more flexible rather than a uniform approach to settlement planning.
Technology Policy under Changing Socioeconomic Conditions
Authors: Zegveld W
Published: October 2006

In the paper, it is argued that technology is a forceful change agent in society, at the level both of individual firms and of the society at large. At both levels, however, there is a definite need for ‘management of change’. In this context, a balanced and integrated technology policy should contain three principal and interrelated elements determining innovative potential, namely technological opportunities, structure of the industrial sector, and size and structure of market demand. This view is illustrated by means of some examples from Japan and Sweden. It is concluded that the industrialized countries require a broader policy framework to accommodate these changes without undue tension.
Regional Governance in the United States: For Whom?
Authors: Morrill R L
Published: October 2006

In response to problems of jurisdictional fragmentation in American metropolitan areas, many efforts at regional governance have been undertaken. Few are successful. In most areas, area-wide problems are dealt with by specialized functional entities. The universal avoidance of regional general-purpose governance is analyzed through consideration of the motivations and attitudes of the actors (businesses, governments, citizens) in particular American cities, including Seattle. It is argued that the strongest force against regionalization is the fear of redistribution of real income.
High-Technology Theories and Public Policy
Authors: Thompson C
Published: October 2006

In this paper, six emerging strands of high-technology theory are reviewed, and are compared with each other for their utility and relevance to public policy. Although each has different particular strengths and weaknesses, their general determinism and reliance on market environments are found to be at odds with a conception of high technology as essentially an uncertain, premarket, or extramarket, phenomenon in which institutions, individuals, and place have key roles. The conclusion is that a more appropriate framework, such as a high-tech version of ‘adjustment theory’, would emphasize instead a central role for state activity in managing uncertainty, the importance of decisions by limited key individuals, and the historicogeographical characteristics of local settings.
Technology Parks and Their Contribution to the Development of Technology-Oriented Complexes in Australia
Authors: Joseph R A
Published: October 2006

One of the features that Australia has in common with other countries has been the encouragement of clusters of high-technology firms or technology-oriented complexes (TOCs). In Australia, the primary mechanism for promoting TOCs has been technology parks. In this paper the purpose is to review technology park developments in Australia from a perspective which emphasises some key conceptual features of the literature in this area: Agglomeration economies of high-technology firms and firm–university interaction; the creation of new high-technology complexes; and locational factors which make technology parks attractive to high-technology companies. Three Australian case studies, based on interviews with high-technology firms, are reported. One of the key findings from the research is that if Australian technology parks are aiming to establish TOCs that exhibit a high level of interaction between the park and a host university, then the present situation in Australia is far removed from this goal.
Shaping a Racially Divided Society: State Housing Policy in South Africa, 1920–50
Authors: Parnell S
Published: October 2006

Public housing assistance for poor whites in South Africa was introduced to ensure social and geographical isolation for the voting minority. The policy of relative advantage of housing needs of whites over those of the rest of the working class remained unchallenged until the consummation of residential segregation was achieved under the Group Areas Act of 1950. Although endorsed as an instrument for social and residential cleavage, efforts by the state to give residential assistance to working-class whites prior to the imposition of separate group areas are shown to have been restricted by wider political and economic considerations. Efforts to upgrade and separate the housing of working-class whites from the black urban community met with limited success in the interwar years. After World War 2, fiscal restrictions and the politics that surrounded the rapid urbanisation of Africans challenged the practice, if not the policy, of housing advantage for whites.
Local Government Allocation of Labour and the Grant System: An Applied Model Analysis of Local Government Behaviour in Norway
Authors: Rattsø J
Published: October 2006

The behaviour of local governments in Norway is investigated in a model of allocation of labour between local services. The model allows for an analysis of the substitution effects in the allocation of local government resources. The results indicate how costs, taxes, grants, and socioeconomic factors influence local governments. The effects of the grant system are emphasized, and it is concluded that selective grants act as general income. As a result, the recent reform in Norway which consolidated the special purpose grants must be expected to have a small effect on allocation of resources.
Grant Systems and Vulnerability to Fiscal Stress: A Comparative Study of Danish and North American Local Government
Authors: Mouritzen P E , Narver B J
Published: October 2006

The properties of a country's system of intergovernmental grants may have important effects on the vulnerability of local government to socioeconomic changes and to changes in grants from the central government. A comparison between Denmark and the United States suggests that a combination of a low degree of equalization, high reliance on general grants, and a visible structure of taxation lead to a high degree of vulnerability to fiscal stress.
Social Security Spending in the United Kingdom: Bridging the North-South Economic Divide
Authors: Walker R , Huby M
Published: October 2006

Regional considerations have played little if any part in the development of social security policies in the United Kingdom. The spatial concentration of present social security expenditure is purely incidental and occurs simply as a result of the clustering of social security beneficiaries in particular areas. Nevertheless, by affecting regional aggregate demand these spatial transfers act to lessen the growth of regional disparities. In this paper the pattern of spatial transfers effected by social security benefits in the period 1979/80–1985/86 is described, with particular reference to transfers across the so-called north–south divide. Although not all benefits cause the transfer of resources in the same geographical direction, in 1985/86 social security transfers to the north exceeded those associated with formal regional policies.
Privatisation versus Poll Tax: A Public Choice Analysis of the Popularity of Two Thatcher ‘Flagships’
Authors: Gibson J G , Watt P A
Published: October 2006

Two major policy innovations of the Thatcher governments are analysed—privatisation and poll tax. A public choice analysis is used to predict and explain why poll tax will be a less popular policy electorally than privatisation. The explanation focuses on the distribution of gains and losses between gainers and losers under the two policies. Two implications of the analysis are that future privatisation issues are likely to continue to be underpriced and that increased central grants will be used to reduce the average level of poll tax.
Optimal Decentralization—A Conceptual Approach to the Reform of German Federalism
Authors: Biehl D
Published: October 2006

In the Federal Republic of Germany a tendency towards centralization can be identified. As it is difficult to decide whether this tendency increases or decreases welfare, a conceptual framework is developed that is based on an extended notion of costs in that it also allows a comparison of political with economic costs in the traditional sense. This approach allows the conceptual determination of an optimal degree of centralization/decentralization that depends on preference costs of citizens on the one hand [for instance, the costs of violated (‘frustrated’) values by a more centralized system] and resource costs (which increase with decentralization) on the other. This analysis also comprises as intermediate steps the derivation of certain principles that are elements of the theory of fiscal federalism.
Regional Planning
Authors: Dietrichs B
Published: October 2006

Spatial planning at the regional level is a particularly good example of ‘centralization versus decentralization’ in a federal system. In one respect the region is dependent on the central level, as far as its legal bases, organizational forms, and planning tasks are concerned; but the cities and counties should be allowed to specify the functions they perform in their own region. This is the crux of the conflict in finding an effective balance between centralization and decentralization. Solutions to date in the FRG have favored a progressive centralization. Because of the increasing economic and ecological problems with which the regions are faced, this centralist solution is no longer tenable and decentralizing reforms are now required and under discussion. These concern the institutional organization and functions of the regions, a mobilization of the capacities available in the respective regions for solving their problems, plus a gradual shift to new region-specific planning. Thus, changes are occurring in regional planning which pave the way for a more decentralized planning process. However, in spite of the new understanding, even at central level, that the regions are capable of contributing efficient solutions to actual problems, these changes have not yet achieved a breakthrough in planning practice.
Entrepreneurs in America: Are They Really a Different Breed?
Authors: Bingham R D , Melkers J E
Published: October 2006

The literature on entrepreneurship in the USA suffers from the fact that it has not been comparative. Researchers have generally identified characteristics of entrepreneurs and assumed that these characteristics distinguish them from individuals who are employed by others. In this study the backgrounds and personality traits of entrepreneurs and nonentrepreneurs are compared. It is concluded that the reported differences between entrepreneurs and nonentrepreneurs are overblown— actual differences are minimal.
Polish Local Government in Transition
Authors: Regulski J
Published: October 2006

Poland is undergoing important political changes. The evolution of legal, political, and financial resources of local government since 1950 is discussed in this paper. In the last section are presented the Solidarity programme and governmental response at the historic ‘Round Table’ talks between the ruling Communist Party and the Polish opposition, which opened the way to the opposition's magnificent victory in the parliamentary elections in June 1989. In 1950 a very centralized organization of the state was imposed. But the postwar history shows expansions and limitations of local government power. These shifts and their causation are analyzed. The poor quality of the urban fabric, the need of social support for the ruling party, and important economic tasks of local government call for decentralization. Its implementation requires overcoming the barriers, which result from resistance by political and bureaucratic structures, bad economic situation, and lack of public interest in local democracy. Recently a decentralization policy is being implemented. Many legal openings have been made, but the political organization is still very centralized. It is argued that a deconcentration of tasks and means cannot be effective without changes in political structures. Therefore Solidarity asks for full self-government at the communal level, but the ruling Party has strong reservations against this.
Federal Expenditure-to-Revenue Ratios in the United States of America, 1971–85: An Exploration of Spatial Equity under the ‘New Federalism’
Authors: Thompson C
Published: October 2006

Previous studies of the spatial balance of combined budgets are reviewed. A new variant of the ACIR (Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations) state-level ‘federal expenditure-to-revenue ratio’ is suggested as an indicator of the relationship between the federal government and an individual state. Patterns of change in such ratios are examined for the period 1971–85, focusing on: Trends in spatial disparity, time series models, correlations with state income and unemployment, and changes associated with the ‘new federalism’. The main conclusion is that past notions about incremental or autoregressive behavior within a single spatial system may need to be modified for the post-1981 period.
Tax Reform, Revenue Windfalls, and Elderly Taxpayers
Authors: Gist J R
Published: October 2006

Federal and state income tax reform will have far-reaching effects on the distribution of income and tax burdens in the United States of America. It was expected that tax reform would shift the burden of taxation from individuals to corporations and from lower to higher-income pérsons, but it has also shifted the aggregate burden of federal income tax from the general population to US citizens over the age of sixty five. Total federal income taxes for the general population declined by nearly $36 US billion, but increased for older citizens (that is, those over the age of sixty five) by nearly $3 US billion. The shift in taxes is progressive, however, in that low-income older Americans pay less federal income tax and those with high incomes pay more.

At the same time, state income tax payments increased for most US citizens as a result of federal tax reform, but more so for older citizens than for the general population. These ‘windfall’ increases in state income taxes added to the increased federal income tax borne by upper-income and middle-income older persons, and partially or fully offset the reduction in federal income taxes for lower-income older persons. However, the income tax burden on the elderly population remains relatively low, with 75% of the elderly paying less than 5% of income in federal income tax and over half paying less than 1%, with most of these not filing tax returns at all.
The Elderly, Economic Dependency, and Local Government Revenues and Expenditures
Authors: Rosenberg M W , Moore E G
Published: October 2006

The relationships among the elderly population, economic conditions relative to the working age population, and local government revenues and expenditures are complex. With Ontario, Canada in 1986 as a case study, these relationships are explored through a series of models. The geographic distribution of the elderly population and its economic dependency are projected to the year 2006. Given the current relationships and the projections, the implications for various levels of government are discussed.
Local Fiscal Variables and Intrametropolitan Firm Location: Regression Evidence from the United States and Research Suggestions
Authors: Wassmer R W
Published: October 2006

A survey is given of US studies relating to the influence of local fiscal variables on intrametropolitan firm location. The survey is important for two reasons. First, it documents the reversal in early empirical results that local fiscal variables do not influence intrametropolitan firm location to the current empirical consensus that local fiscal variables do exert some statistically significant influence. Second, the survey is used to formulate suggestions on how research on this topic, no matter where it is done for, should proceed. A recent study is described that shows that property tax abatements to firms mitigate the influence that local fiscal variables have on intrametropolitan firm location. A tabular summary of the varying property tax and local expenditure elasticities of various measures of firm location is also given.
Deregulation of Domestic Passenger Air Transport Services in the United Kingdom, 1980–89: A Case Study of Northern Ireland
Authors: Graham B J
Published: October 2006

In the first instance, an analysis of the deregulatory aviation policies applied in the United Kingdom during the 1980s is provided. Discussion is placed within the particular context of studies of US deregulation, and their wider relevance to proposed European Community liberalisation. From these, a consensus is emerging that deregulation can succeed only if accompanied by vigorous government measures to act against merger, acquisition, and other anticompetitive devices used by existing carriers to protect their positions. Thus, in part, successful deregulation demands both airport capacity and airport competition in order to increase the number of potential routes for new-market entrants and to obviate at least some of those advantages which accrue to incumbent carriers. Because these conditions are satisfied in Northern Ireland, that region is used as a case study of the efficacy of UK domestic deregulatory policy. The analysis concludes that, given sufficient airport capacity, the increased competition between airlines and airports sponsored by deregulatory policies can have significantly positive benefits for producers in terms of increased demand. Consumers also gain on fares but particularly from enhanced frequency of services. In turn, the advantage of greater frequency is dependent upon the utilisation of a different type of domestic aircraft fleet.
Regional Policy and National Politics in Britain
Authors: Gordon I R
Published: October 2006

Conflicts over territorial politics are intimately bound up with issues of class representation in national politics. The thesis of this paper is that the persistence of British regional policy, with support from both major parties of government over a period of forty years or more, reflects an attempt to maintain the class-based dual party system of national politics by minimising the importance of other dimensions of political preference. The paper has two main sections. In the first a series of conventional rationales for regional policy are examined in terms of efficiency, equity, and the government's interest in reelection, and it is concluded that none of these adequately explains the uncontested basis of British regional policy. In the second main section a version of Downs's model of electoral competition is adopted to investigate the stability of forms of two-party competition, and it is argued that in a class-based national system the parties have a strong interest in avoiding the emergence of a separate territorial dimension of politics. The conclusion to the paper is a consideration of the relationship between regionalism, regional politics, and regional policy in the context of Mrs Thatcher's government's weakening of regional policy and emphasis on strong central control.
Urban Policy in the Thatcher Decade: English Inner-City Policy, 1979–90
Authors: Lawless P
Published: October 2006

England has witnessed more than a decade of formal urban policy effected by Conservative administrations elected in 1979, 1983, and 1987. Most initiatives have fallen into one of three categories: Those designed to improve coordination; innovations in liberalisation; and urban development programmes. These initiatives can collectively be evaluated within a number of parameters. Central government has argued that urban policy is a coordinated, adequate, efficient, and consensual approach to difficulties faced by the older conurbations. Evidence from Parliament, academics, practitioners, and lobbyists suggests, however, that it remains an ill-coordinated, limited, inefficient, and sectorally divisive policy. Other interpretations rooted in concepts such as privatisation and accentuated control have greater validity in explaining British urban policy.
Toward a New Political Economy of Metropolitan Regions
Authors: Barnes W R , Ledebur L C
Published: October 2006

The nation is not the real economy; nor are state or local political jurisdictions. Metropolitan-centered economic regions are the functional economies. These metropolitan economic regions are linked in a highly interdependent system of regional economies. This system of regional economies overlays the political geography of the nation but does not correspond to national boundaries, just as metropolitan economic regions do not correspond to state or local political boundaries. Policymaking thus confronts two major but noncongruent systems: Economic federalism and political federalism. Noncongruence constitutes a major obstacle to economic policymaking and implementation. A political economy of these two federalisms is needed to fuse politics and policy.
The Changing Romanian Countryside: The Ceauşescu Epoch and Prospects for Change following the Revolution
Authors: Turnock D
Published: October 2006

Adjustment to the ending of state socialism in Eastern Europe will create many difficulties. In this paper the author addresses one particular issue: Rural planning objectives in Romania following the dramatic end to the quarter-century Ceauşescu epoch in December 1989. After referring to the ideological thrust of rural planning under socialism in general and Ceauşescu's leadership in particular the author concentrates on the radical demographic changes arising from the decline of employment in agriculture with only limited priority for the provision of alternative work in the countryside. Rural–urban migration has arguably been increased by discouragement of small-scale private enterprise in favour of large urban-based projects preferred by the central planning system. Following the revolution a swing towards privatisation should focus greater attention on the potentials of the rural areas, and the abandonment of Ceauşescu's draconian scheme of consolidation for rural settlement should encourage greater investment in outlying communities.
School Segregation: Managed Integration or Free Choice?
Authors: Clark W A V , Dieleman F M , de Klerk L
Published: October 2006

As the proportion of immigrant minorities has increased in Dutch cities there has been a corresponding increase in the levels of minority versus Dutch pupil segregation in the schools. At the same time the levels of segregation in residential neighborhoods has remained stable. A specific analysis of school attendance patterns in Amsterdam shows that the reason for the increasing segregation in schools is that there is a strong tendency to choose schools of the same ethnicity. The choices both by Dutch and by immigrant parents are serving to increase levels of separation but until there is evidence of educational inequality as a result we argue policy intervention should proceed with caution. The current government approach is to provide supplementary funding to ‘minority schools’ rather than to assign children to schools.
The Politics of Gun Control: Comparing Canadian and American Patterns
Authors: Mauser G A , Margolis M
Published: October 2006

In this paper two questions are asked: To what extent do the Canadian and US publics differ in their beliefs about firearms-control legislation, and to what extent do these differences help to account for the stricter firearms legislation found in Canada? Surveys indicate that Canadians and Americans have remarkably similar attitudes towards firearms and gun control. Linear regression is used to analyze the factors that underlie the popular support for (or opposition to) stricter gun-control legislation. It is found that, with respect to support for gun control, cultural differences between Canadians and Americans are overshadowed by socioeconomic variables, such as gender and gun ownership.

The similarities in public attitudes between Canadians and Americans suggest that the explanation for stricter firearms legislation in Canada lies more with the differences in political elites and institutions than with differences in public opinion. The differences in public attitudes in the two countries are insufficient to explain the stark contrast in firearms legislation.