bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Devaluation, Inflationary Expectations and Stabilisation in Peru
Authors: Roca Santiago , Priale Rodrigo
Published: March 2008

The serious economic difficulties that Peru is confronting, its rapid inflation, the failure of the IMF stabilisation programme, and the recent adoption of a new economic programme are all topics that are worth analysing.
Markets to Hierarchies and Back Again: The Implication of Management Buy‐outs for Factor Supply
Authors: Thompson R.S. , Wright M.
Published: March 2008

In both the United States and Europe there has been a spectacular growth in the number and importance of management buy‐outs since the late 1970s. The typical characteristics of these deals differ somewhat on either side of the Atlantic in ways which are outlined below. However, in each environment the term “buy‐out” refers essentially to the transfer of ownership of the assets of an existing firm — which may itself be an independent entity or a wholly‐owned subsidiary or division — to a new and especially established group of equity holders which intends to keep at least some of those assets in their former use. In the US buy‐outs have often involved very large asset transfers, indeed multi‐billion dollar deals have been quite frequent. The transaction is typically financed by a limited subscription of equity from specialist venture capitalists and perhaps from the firm's management, together with a very large input of debt capital. The latter has often been in the form of high coupon (so called “junk”) bonds. The characteristically high ratio of debt to equity in buy‐out finance has given rise to their American description asleveraged buy‐outs.
When Does Market‐Share Matter?
Authors: Hall Graham
Published: March 2008

One of the tenets of the conventional wisdom of the strategic management literature is that if a business succeeds in increasing its market‐share it will usually enjoy an improvement in its profitability. It is not simply that it serves as one of a battery of measures of relative performance, nor that, ceteris paribus, increases in the volume of sales must be linked to increases in the total amount of profits earned, but that increases in market share will directly cause increases in profitability, that is profits deflated to take into account the level of output. As might be expected, the strength of feeling that is displayed about the virtues of market‐share as a strategic tool varies enormously among opinion leaders. Those from the influential Boston Consulting Group (1970) are almost messianic in their exhortations to businesses to aim single mindedly for increased market‐share in order to move down their experience curves. Others, most notably from the Strategic Planning Institute, through its Profit Impact of Market Strategies Programme (PIMS), e.g. Schloeffer, et al., (1974), Buzzell, et al., (1975) and Gale (1972), imply the importance of market‐share by the emphasis they place upon its influence in their reporting of the results of regressing return‐on‐investment in a model which contains over thirty other variables.
Are The General Theory's Central Contributions Still Valid?
Authors: Chick Victoria
Published: March 2008

Though Keynes wrote prodigiously, his position in economics is based on The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (1936). Without it, I think he would be judged as a fine economist, exceptionally able to combine theoretical work and practical policy application, but I doubt that he would stand as one of our “greats”.
A New Perspective on Shackle's Keynesian Fundamentalism
Authors: Pheby John
Published: March 2008

In preparing this article, I have approached Shackle's “fundamentalist” interpretation of Keynes from a slightly different angle. Much of the discussion as to whether Shackle is right tends to get bogged down in a rather narrow textual exegisis. That is, debates that focus on whether the 1937 Quarterly Journal of Economics article means more, or less, than Keynes's apparent “endorsement” of IS/LM Keynesianism contained in his famous letter to Hicks. This type of discussion too easily overlooks the more fundamental methodological considerations that motivate Shackle. Such issues as the way in which economic actors acquire knowledge and the nature of economics as a social science are important to him. Therefore], a more meaningful way of assessing Shackle's views would be to consider whether they are in sympathy with Keynes's views on such matters.
Economics and Systems Theory
Authors: Hodgson Geoffrey M.
Published: March 2008

Present‐day economics is characterised by the fragmentary and reductionist approach that typifies most social sciences. Economists generally fail to recognise that the economy is merely one aspect of a whole ecological and social fabric; a living system composed of human beings in continual interaction with one another and with their natural resources, most of which are, in turn, living organisms. The basic error of the social sciences is to divide this fabric in fragments, assumed to be independent and to be dealt with in separate academic departments (Capra, 1982, pp. 194–5).
Patterns of Bilateral Trade Flows Within the Characteristics Approach to Trade
Authors: Webster Allan
Published: March 2008

Recent years have seen the development of intra‐industry trade models based upon the work of Lancaster (1979). Although these models demonstrate the conditions which lead to intra‐industry trade they cannot, in general, predict the direction of bilateral trade flows in the same commodity. Work by Lancaster (1984) and Lyons (1984) identifies two possibilities — the interleaved case (each domestically produced variety is bordered on both sides by a foreign produced variety) and the split case (domestic firms produce on one half of the preference spectrum and foreign firms on the other). Which of the two cases applies is seen as being determined by historical demand patterns. This paper seeks to model these patterns by a simple adaptation of the model of Lancaster (1980).
The Tight Money Effect, Wage Indexation and Macroeconomic Policy: The Fleming Model Revisited
Authors: Chen Chau‐nan , Lai Ching‐chong , Chang Wen‐ya
Published: March 2008

Comparisons of the relative effectiveness of Fiscal and monetary policies under flexible vis à vis fixed exchange rates have a long history. The problem can be tackled by using the following relationship:
The Long‐run Effects of the Sex Integration of the British Labour Market
Authors: Tzannatos Zafiris
Published: March 2008

This article examines the possible long‐run effects of the Sex Discrimination Act upon output, male wages and female wages after the hypothetical abolition of occupational differentials between men and women in Britain. If male and female employment distributions were equalised on the assumption that men and women had the same productive characteristics and no employers' discrimination were allowed, then the movement of female workers from low‐paid to high‐paid occupations should result in efficiency gains and an increase in female wages probably at low losses to male wages. The findings of our simulations indicate that the improvement in female wages would be considerable at little cost to male wages. Efficiency gains are found to depend crucially on the assumed elasticity of substitution between female and male labour, but it is more likely that gains would be much higher than those suggested by other related studies on the misallocation of labour. This should not be a surprise because women are the largest “minority” group and are also the most underutilised factor of production.
The Balance of Payments of Trinidad and Tobago 1973–1983: A Monetary Phenomenon?
Authors: Kent Watson Patrick
Published: March 2008

The monetary approach to the balance of payments accords a very important role to monetary variables in the determination of reserve flows; (see Johnson, 1977). It postulates that the reserve flows will increase (decrease) if the residents of a country desire to accumulate (deplete) money balances faster than the rate at which the money stock is growing (diminishing) as a consequence of purely domestic influences. In other words, reserve flows are the mechanism through which money demand and supply are brought into equilibrium, and the model predicts in particular that these flows are negatively related to the rate of domestic credit expansion. A most important policy implication of this approach is that the monetary authorities can influence the level of foreign reserves by acting upon the composition of the monetary base through deliberate and meaningful credit policies. Devaluation of the currency, on the other hand, will have little or no effect on the flow of these reserves; (see Frenkel and Johnson, 1976, Chapter 1).
Danish Beef Exports to Canada — A Multinational Dispute
Authors: Kerr William A.
Published: March 2008

On July 25, 1986 the Canadian Import Tribunal issued the Finding for its investigation of imports of beef from Denmark and Ireland. The Tribunal found that subsidised Danish beef exported to Canada: has not caused, is not causing, but is likely to cause material injury to the production of like goods (emphasis added). This carefully worded statement provided the legal justification for countervailing duties to be imposed on any beef produced in Denmark receiving subsidies under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Export Refund system (European Economic Community (EEC) Regulation No. 885/68). Although the imposition of countervailing duties is allowed under the rules of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) when it can be shown that the subsidy is threatening to cause material injury to an established domestic industry (King, 1979), using such a justification must clearly require conjecture on the part of the importer and, hence, provide only a poorly defensible position in the event of an appeal to the GATT.
Optimality and Production Efficiency of Some Cropsharing Systems
Authors: Abdel‐Rahman A‐M.M.
Published: March 2008

Cropsharing tenancy is a common form of production organisation in peasant agriculture. The sharing arrangement may assume a number of forms depending on how inputs and outputs are divided between the respective parties to the arrangement. Thus, under one form, the parties (or a decision entity on their behalf) may deliberately seek to optimise the factor inputs and resources available to them, including the tenant's labour, in order to maximise output and pay the contracting parties their respective returns. This form is known as the Joint Account System (JAS).
Okun's Bucket: A Leak and Two Splashes?
Authors: Lambert Peter J.
Published: March 2008

In Okun's (1975) extended essay “Equality and Efficiency — The Big Trade‐Off”, reference is made to the leaky bucket experiment in the context of tax and transfer programmes. Money is carried from the rich to the poor in a bucket which leaks. This idea gives eloquent expression to the concept of efficiency loss in the use of the fiscal system to reduce inequality.
Menger's Valuation of Nature: An Atomistic and “Organistic” Approach
Authors: Krabbe J.J.
Published: March 2008

This essay focuses on Carl Menger's valuation of nature. Menger's stand in the discussion on method with Schmoller might easily give rise to the idea that he was a thinker who was fully oriented towards an atomistic interpretation of society and to an axiomatic way of thought, and that his economic approach to nature was characterised only by this way of thinking. Examination of Menger's work, however, proves that the author's economic philosophy also shows clear features of a holistic way of thinking, oriented on German Romanticism.
On the Austrian Contribution to Capital Theory
Authors: Zuidema R.P.
Published: March 2008

Members of the Austrian school held particular views on capital. In this essay the development of Austrian theorising on capital is assessed and contrasted with what has been presented as the Neoclassical view. So far as this subject is concerned it was Böhm‐Bawerk, among the older members of the Austrian school, who became widely known as the main contributor (partly because some of his work was translated early).
Böhm‐Bawerk on Time Preference: Economic Action Based on Future Needs
Authors: Heijman W.
Published: March 2008

Future needs play an important part in economic action. They urge private householders as well as society as a whole to choose between the immediate consumption of income and the saving of income for present and future satisfaction. In this situation of choice in economic conduct, Böhm‐Bawerk (1851–1914), the well‐known Austrian economist of the second generation, analysed the subject of time preference and put forward an explanation for interest. The aim of this essay is to review this theory and to assess its significance for present‐day economics.
The Austrian School on Money and Gold
Authors: Yeager L.B.
Published: March 2008

Austrian views on money and the gold standard are consonant with the general characteristics of the school. First, Austrians are concerned with the complete picture, with how a whole economic system and alternative sets of institutions function. They are alert to the question of unplanned order and of how the decentralised decisions and specialised activities of millions of people can mesh without central planning. They investigate how the market and prices function as a vast communications system and computer, transmitting information and incentives and so enlisting knowledge scattered over many millions of minds that would otherwise necessarily go to waste. They recognise why accurate economic calculation is impossible under socialism. Second, the Austrians appreciate the implications of incomplete, imperfect and scattered knowledge and also the implications of change and unpredictability in human affairs. They pay attention to disequilibrium, to processes as well as end positions, and to entrepreneurial altertness and creativity. Instead of supposing, for example, that cost curves and demand curves are somehow “given” to business decision makers, they recognise it as one of the functions of the competitive process to press for discovery of ways to get the cost curves down — if one speaks of such curves at all. Third, Austrians have certain methodological predilections. They reject the tacit view of economic activity as the result of interplay among objective conditions and impersonal forces. They take pains to trace their analyses back to the subjective perceptions, decisions and actions of individuals trying to cope with a complex and unpredictably changeable world; they recognise introspection as one legitimate source of the facts underpinning economic theory. (While thus practising methodological individualism, they do not subordinate the big question of system‐wide co‐ordination to an excessively narrow focus on the administration of individual firms and households.) Finally, although Austrians like to think of their economics as value‐free and not logically tied to any particular policy position, their insights into positive economics, coupled with plausible value judgements of a humanitarian and individualistic nature, undeniably do lead them to favour free markets.
Wieser's Theory of Money
Authors: Dullaart M.H.J.
Published: March 2008

The rediscovery of Austrian economics during the last 15 years has led to the reappearance of Menger, Mises, Hayek and, to a lesser extent, Böhm‐Bawerk in the footnotes. Next to nothing is heard of Friedrich von Wieser, Menger's successor in Vienna and inventor of the name “Austrian School”. Why is Wieser neglected in the Austrian Revival? Perhaps because economic theorists and policy makers in many countries have again become very interested in the possibilities of the market and in the applicability of the quantity theory of money — whereas Wieser was critical of both. Or perhaps because Wieser advocated an alliance of economics and sociology — whereas sociology is not very much in vogue now.
Hayek and Keynes: A Comparative Analysis of Their Monetary Views
Authors: Nentjes A.
Published: March 2008

The controversy between Hayek and Keynes in the 1930s is probably one of the best‐known disputes in economics and several comments have been made on this episode (Hicks, 1967; Machlup, 1977; Fletcher, 1987). In the assessments little attention has been paid to the development of the ideas of the two economists, to the views they had in common and to the influence they had on each other. These aspects will be taken into consideration in this contribution with the aim of extending our knowledge of the fundamental points of disagreement between them. The crucial question is how it came about that Hayek and Keynes, who for some time studied very similar monetary problems, ended as such fierce opponents on the question of how a modern capitalist system works. Keynes went as far as denying that the market system is self‐adjusting, whereas Hayek, especially in his later writings, propounded the view that markets constitute an efficient mechanism for the satisfaction of human needs.
On Economics and Language
Authors: Khan M. Ali
Published: March 2008

If I do not count the introductory essay by the editors, the book Economics and Language (Henderson, et al., 1993), can be divided into three substantive parts. The first is titled rhetoric and critical theory, the second, controversy and hedging in economics, and the third, language and the history of economic thought. Again not counting the introduction, the volume consists of a total of ten essays: four in the first part and three each in the remaining two. In Part I, the reader is introduced to a realist philosophy of economic rhetoric, to Ricoeur and the significance of the hermeneutic project for economics, to Bakhtin's dialogism in the formation of the canon, and to the relevance of Derrida and of deconstructive methods for rational choice theory. Part II is concerned with the “stylistics” of two sets of material: with the “debate” between Milton Friedman and his critics; and with 11 articles chosen from a recent issue of the Economic Journal. Finally, the three essays in Part III are devoted to Adam Smith, to Edgeworth and to the response of six elementary textbooks to a “puzzle” of economic theory.
Corrosion of ferrous metals by bacterially produced iron sulphides and its control by cathodic protection
Authors: King R.A. , Miller J.D.A.
Published: March 2008

Of the many unrelated types of microbes that can initiate or stimulate the corrosion of metals, the most important economically are the sulphate‐reducing bacteria. They flourish in the soil, in fresh and salt water (including heating and cooling systems) and in oil storage tanks and associated pipelines; and they have been found in all the continents including Antarctica.
THE OPTIMUM SOLUTION FOR THE ADJUSTMENT PROBLEM
Authors: JOHNSON HARRY G.
Published: March 2008

This paper is concerned with the optimum solution for the adjustment problem. It is obvious from the outset that it is much easier to discuss non‐optimum solutions, or the pessimum solution, than to discuss the optimum solution. That remark needs to be qualified, however: there would be no problem, and no need for a solution, if the world were so arranged that adjustment took place painlessly and automatically. The difficulties arise for several reasons, of which the more important are that changes occur that are unforseen and to which adjustment is painful; that the process of political government offers possibilities of palliating or reducing the pain at least in the short run by interfering in one way or another with whatever system of adjustment is generally thought to exist; and that these interferences tend both to create inefficiency in the operation of the economy and to aggravate the adjustment problem by impeding adjustments that might otherwise occur without too much difficulty and by allowing disequilibria to cumulate.
THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY SYSTEM: THE NEXT STAGE
Authors: SCAMMELL W.M.
Published: March 2008

In August, 1971 the Bretton Woods system of international monetary relations ended, “not with a bang but a whimper”. The so‐called Nixon measures signalled a change of arrangements and attitudes which put the world on notice that the United States was no longer prepared to fill the key role in that system. From that moment forward, makeshift arrangements have provided an uneasy interregnum, while the Committee of Twenty distill from the experience of the past and the wisdom of the present the essence of a new system.
EDUCATION AND INCOME IN CHILE
Authors: SORKIN ALAN L.
Published: March 2008

From December, 1969 to March, 1970 a sample survey was conducted throughout Chile to determine individual utilization and expenditures on health services. As a by‐product of this survey, information was obtained on individual schooling and income by age, occupation, and region of residence. This paper analyzes the latter information. The sample consists of 3,839 Chilean males who were heads of households and who were employed during 1969.
A SIMPLE DETERMINATE SOLUTION FOR BILATERAL MONOPOLY
Authors: SPINDLER Z.A.
Published: March 2008

Many modern microeconomic theory textbooks similarly conclude that the bilateral monopoly equilibrium price and quantity are theoretically indeterminate given the usual assumptions of the theory of the firm; they usually state that additional assumptions about bargaining power or firm behaviour are required for a determinate solution. The past literature on bilateral monopoly generally supports the textbook position with respect to price but not with respect to quantity. For example, von Stackelberg (1952, 182–9) and Fellner (1947, 523–8) argued that quantity is determinate at the joint profit maximizing level for bilateral monopoly between profit maximizing firms which employ “all or none” offers; price, however, must still be determined by relative bargaining power which is unspecified.
LABOUR SUPPLY AND INCOME UNCERTAINTY: THE GEOMETRY OF A SPECIAL CASE
Authors: BLOCK M.K.
Published: March 2008

The effect of increased uncertainty on the agent's allocation decision is an intriguing general question and has recently received some systematic attention in the literature. Sandmo has analyzed the effect of savings rate uncertainty on the savings decision and both he and Leland have explored the effect of “income uncertainty” on the same decision. In addition, Leland has investigated the effects of uncertainty on optimal foreign exchange positions and both authors, Leland and Sandmo have begun an exploration of the effects of uncertain demand on the firm's output decision. Finally, Block and Heineke have analyzed the effect of income, savings rate, and wage uncertainty on the agent's labour allocation. However, in all of this work there has not been a geometric treatment of even a restricted case. The purpose of this note is to develop such an analysis for a special, but interesting labour allocation problem, and thereby derive the results of income uncertainty in a transparent fashion.
A QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF WAGE STRIKES IN FOUR U.K. INDUSTRIES, 1962–1970
Authors: BEAN R. , PEEL D.A.
Published: March 2008

A strike is not the only available collective sanction open to a dissatisfied workforce, which may have recourse to alternative forms of militant action such as the go‐slow or overtime ban. Nevertheless, despite their well known limitations, strike statistics constitute the only available quantitative barometer of overt and organised industrial conflict. In order to explain the incidence of strike action at an aggregative level a number of studies have been carried out in recent years which test quantitative relationships via the use of multiple regression techniques and which postulate an economic interpretation of strike activity. The advantage of the quantitative approach as a method of analysis and insight into the relationships involved is that it “replaces improvised ad hoc explanations of strike activity with a behavioural model which….does yield refutable implications”. That is, in terms of providing more solid and systematic empirical knowledge, its performance is testable and, by amendments and refinements, capable of improvement.
CHANGES IN LOCAL INCOME MULTIPLIERS OVER TIME
Authors: LEVER W.F.
Published: March 2008

Considerable interest has been shown in recent years in the calculation of regional income and/or employment multipliers. Their role in the formulation and evaluation of regional policy has been stressed by Wilson (1968) and some writers have been prepared to suggest that high levels of leakage and consequent low multipliers are causes of economic decline or slow growth in the peripheral regions just as much as are economic structure or locational disadvantages (Thirlwell, 1972). The early approaches to the calculation of income or employment multipliers generally used aggregate data on employment, where data on output were not available, national input—output tables to identify input mixes and generalised economic base concepts to distinguish local and nonlocal purchases and sales (Archibald, 1967; Brown et al, 1967; Steele, 1969). More recent work, however, had identified another approach, forsaking the use of aggregated national data sets and employing intensive survey methods of individual industrial plants, such as Greig's study of the pulp and paper mills at Fort William (1971), of educational establishments such as universities (Brownrigg, 1973; Lewes and Kirkness, 1973) or of service sectors such as tourism (Blake and MacDowell, 1967). More recently Lever (1974a) has introduced a more rigorous comparative method into the study of individual manufacturing establishments.
THE PATTERN OF TRADE AND SPECIALISATION IN THE CENTRAL AMERICAN COMMON MARKET
Authors: WILLMORE L.N.
Published: March 2008

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the structural changes and pattern of specialisation that followed the formation of the Central American Common Market (CACM) in the early 1960s. In the first section it is shown that the fear did exist that trade‐creating and “backwash” effects would dominate as a result of unrestricted free trade in the region. In sections two and three, evidence is presented to suggest that these fears have proved to be largely unfounded. The operation of market forces has led to an unplanned reciprocal exchange of manufactures for manufactures and non‐manufactures for non‐manufactures. Moreover, most of the structural changes within the manufacturing sector appear to have taken the form of intra‐industry specialisation, i.e. specialisation in the differentiated products of an industry with no need to abandon entire high‐cost industries.
THE POSSIBILITY OF DYNAMIC IMMISERISING GROWTH: A DISPROOF
Authors: CONSTANTOPOULOS M.
Published: March 2008

Immiserising growth is a phenomenon whereby an increase in the productive capacity of an economy — due to growth in factor endowments or technological progress — results in a reduction in social welfare.
THE COST OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND OUTPUT DECISIONS: CERTAINTY AND UNCERTAINTY
Authors: BLOCK M.K. , HEINEKE J.M.
Published: March 2008

In his classic paper, “A Note on Profit Maximization and Its Implications,” Scitovsky [1943] examines the conditions under which “… the maximizing of profits leads to the maximization of the entrepreneur's satisfaction.” He finds that in order “… that maximum profits should maximize his satisfaction, the entrepreneur must have a special type of psychology …” In particular, “… the entrepreneur's choice between more and less activity — or between more income and more leisure — must be independent of his income.”
FISCAL AND MONETARY POLICY FOR INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL BALANCE
Authors: WOOD GEOFFREY E.
Published: March 2008

In a by now classic article, R.A. Mundell demonstrated that an open economy could maintain internal and external balance without using the exchange rate as a policy tool. This, he showed, could be done by using fiscal policy to produce internal balance, and interest rate policy to produce an imbalance on the capital account to offset whatever imbalance there might be on the current account. There have been two criticisms of this analysis. The first, fairly common in the literature, is that it presumes international capital movements are flows. If, as is often maintained, they are stock adjustments, a certain amount of funds will move in response to an interest rate rise, and then to produce a further reallocation of portfolios a further rise in interest rates will be required. It is thus concluded that Mundellian policy in the presence of a current account deficit would have to be not merely interest rates above those elsewhere, but interest rates rising higher and higher above those elsewhere. The second criticism was first suggested by H.G. Johnson, and later developed in detail by John Williamson. They attacked not the feasibility of the policy, but its desirability. They argued that the policy would produce resource misallocation, both because it compels the choice between home and overseas investment to be made exclusively on short‐term balance of payments grounds, and because it distorts the consumption/investment mix at home.
CONSTANT UTILIZATION OF THE LABOUR FORCE DESPITE RISING OPEN UNEMPLOYMENT IN COLOMBIA?
Authors: ALBERT BERRY R.
Published: March 2008

The view has been popular since the early or mid sixties that many developing countries are in the midst of “employment crises” resulting from low and stagnant demand for labour; major manifestations of this crisis are, according to this view, the rising open unemployment rates, falling participation rates, and continuing prevalence of the subtler “disguised” unemployment and underemployment. “Fixed proportion” conceptualizations of the economy and prominence of labour‐saving technical innovation contribute to the plausibility of this hypothesis. This essay questions the general validity of the “crisis” interpretation, based on data for Colombia, one of the many countries to which it has been applied. It argues
JOB SEARCH, MINIMUM WAGES, AND LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION
Authors: FEINBERG ROBERT M.
Published: March 2008

The supply side of the labor market has too often been neglected in considering the effects of minimum wage legislation. Minimum wage effects on unemployment have been studied extensively, and the unemployment rate has been related in turn to the labor force participation rate. But the relationship between minimum wages and labor force participation has been almost completely ignored in the published literature.
ALTERNATIVE MEASURES OF EXCESS DEMAND FOR EXPLAINING MONEY WAGE INFLATION
Authors: BRISCOE G. , PEEL D.A.
Published: March 2008

Whilst it is generally agreed that the key determinant of the current money wage inflation is anticipated increases in prices, there remains a significant role for excess demand variables. Many of the studies on inflation which have appeared following the original expositions of the Phillips curve relationship have been concerned with producing efficient measures of excess demand variables. In the basic model developed by Phillips and Lipsey, the key determining variable of the rate of growth of money wages was taken to be the percentage rate of unemployment in the labour force. However, several recent contributors to the literature on this type of relationship have challenged the efficiency of the level of unemployment as a measure of excess demand for labour and specifically they have produced evidence which contradicts the central assumption of stability between unemployment and aggregate excess demand. In the U.K. it has been observed how since the end of 1966, Phillips type relationships between levels of unemployment and the rate of change of money wages appear to have broken down and apparent ‘discontinuities’ in the aggregate unemployment series have been noted. All these findings taken together with some earlier U.S. studies which found poor relationships between changes in wages and unemployment levels (see, for example, the discussion in) have concentrated attention on the search for superior measures of excess demand.
INTERNAL — EXTERNAL BALANCE AND RELATIVE SIZE: FURTHER COMMENTS
Authors: WEXLER IMANUEL , MILLER STEPHEN M.
Published: March 2008

In his commentary on our recent contribution, Rodney Thom (1976) singles out three points for discussion. He maintains that our model ignores (1) the relative size of economy under analysis; (2) the interdependence of inflation rates between countries operating under fixed exchange rates; and (3) the dependence of the level of exports upon foreign real income. The failure to take these factors into proper account, he contends, may render our conclusions irrelevant.
THE LOMÉ CONVENTION: A STUDY OF ITS LIKELY BENEFITS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO ETHIOPIA
Authors: LOVE JAMES , DISNEY RICHARD
Published: March 2008

The Convention signed at Lomé on 28 February 1975 between the nine members of the European Economic Community and forty‐six developing countries, known as the ACP States, has been hailed as an important advance in economic cooperation between rich and poor nations. Not only has the number of countries associated with the EEC been raised from the nineteen involved in the earlier Yaoundé Convention, but the ACP countries as a group now appear to enjoy more favourable provisions for trade and aid than those obtained under earlier agreements. Among the new ACP States is Ethiopia, a country neither connected with the EEC through previous arrangements nor having any historical links with Europe apart from a brief period of colonial rule by the Italians during 1936–41. The objective of this paper is to examine the implications of the provisions of the Lomé Convention in relation to Ethiopia. In addition to addressing the major question of local concern, i.e. whether or not Ethiopia is likely to benefit from association, a case study of this country is of more widespread interest. The lessons for Ethiopia may be applicable to other countries with similar circumstances. In addition, on the grounds of absolute poverty the Lomé Convention provides preferential treatment in some areas for certain of the least developed ACP countries, of which Ethiopia is one. The likely benefits of association for Ethiopia may serve, therefore, as an indicator of the extent of the EEC's commitment to assisting the ACP States, and the least developed in particular.
MARKET STRUCTURE AND INDUSTRY PERFORMANCE: THE CASE OF KENYA REVISITED
Authors: HOUSE WILLIAM J.
Published: March 2008

In an earlier paper (House, 1973) the structural characteristics of manufacturing industries, as indicated by the number of competitors in relation to the size of the market, were related to their performance in Kenya for 1963. The index of concentration was constructed so that account was taken of the influence of foreign competition in the home market. This factor is relatively large in some markets of a developing country and could not be ignored as it has been in most other studies of the developed world. The results showed both a positive and continuous relationship between a measure of performance and the index of concentration. In addition, it proved impossible to establish any independent influence on performance of a proxy measure for the capital requirements barrier to entry, which has been found to be important in other studies (Bain, 1951; Mann, 1966).
PERSPECTIVES ON THE CLASSICS: A REVIEW ARTICLE
Authors: GRIEVE ROY H.
Published: March 2008

These two books reflect very different attitudes to classical economics: O'Brien writes from a neoclassical standpoint, Napoleoni from a Marxist one. Two questions deserve consideration. Is anything worthwhile to be gained by devoting attention to the works of the classical economists (and of Marx)? Where, if we do turn to the classics, do they lead us?
A COMPARISON OF THE EFFECT OF SEASONAL ADJUSTMENT ON PARAMETER VALUES, FORECASTS AND POLICY ANALYSIS
Authors: BOPP ANTHONY E. , DURST MITCHELL
Published: March 2008

Forecasters have frequently been concerned with designing seasonal adjustment procedures that satisfy particular theoretical criteria (e.g. orthogonality, idempotency, symmetry, Lovell). In evaluating the merits of a particular technique, Monte Carlo studies are often undertaken and the results are then compared to those derived from the Census Bureau's X—11 routine (Wallis, Stephenson, Grether). However, many practical questions have not been addressed, such as to what extent can seasonal routines affect parameter estimates, forecast values, and policy scenarios? The purpose of this article is to focus upon these questions. Data from a short‐term petroleum demand model is seasonally adjusted six different ways. The seasonally adjusted data is then used to estimate the demand relationships of the model using the same structural equation in each case. The results of these estimations provide illuminating information about how seasonality affects parameter values. For policy purposes, this information can be crucial as various policies can be predicated upon an estimated response to a particular variable (e.g. the price of gasoline). The question answered here is how sensitive are the expected policy results to the type of seasonal routine employed in making the estimations.
A CROSS—SECTION STUDY OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STRIKES AND MARKET STRUCTURE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
Authors: HOLDEN K.
Published: March 2008

Many of the recent studies of strike activity have used time series data in an attempt to identify the important factors relating to the incidence of strikes. The main problem with this approach is that data for a series of years are used to estimate a single regression relationship when in fact the relationship itself may be changing. In particular, the existence of temporary labour shortages, changes in the structure of industry, different perceptions of the rate of inflation and cyclical fluctuations in the demand for labour, are all factors which are difficult to quantify and yet are relevant to the explanation of time series of strike activity. The approach adopted in this paper is to reduce the importance of these factors by using cross‐section data on the incidence of strikes in different U.K. industries. However, a consequence of this is that other factors relating to the incidence of strikes become relevant. For example, the market structure varies greatly between different industries. In 1968, the concentration ratio (weighted by total sales) for the aircraft industry was 99.4, while that for furniture, bedding and upholstery was 21.5. There are reasons (discussed below) why strike activity and market structure are expected to be related. In this paper a theoretical model is presented which attempts to explain variations in strike behaviour between different industries, and empirical evidence concerning the model is presented, using data for 1963 and 1968.
IMPACT OF POLLUTION CONTROL REGULATIONS ON THE MARKET RISK OF SECURITIES IN THE U.S.
Authors: CHUGH LAL C. , HANEMANN MICHAEL , MAHAPATRA S.
Published: March 2008

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of the recent water and air pollution control legislation in the United States upon the market risk of the firms in the most directly affected industries, such as chemicals, electric utilities, iron and steel, petroleum, non‐ferrous metals and textiles, during the period 1953–75.
The County Library Circle
Authors: OGILVIE ALFRED
Published: March 2008

THE past eight years has been a period of pioneer work and experiment in the development of county libraries all over Great Britain, but, despite the vast amount of actual service provided, the most important lesson we have learned is the realization of what must still be done before we have created a service to meet obligations efficiently. The purpose of the county library is to supply to every potential reader, with the minimum of trouble to him or her, any book, on any subject, at any time. Many difficulties have to be met and overcome before the system can respond to every call that may be made upon it and continue its journey towards the attainment of its great ideal.
Dipping into History
Authors: TOMLINSON H.M.
Published: March 2008

JUST now I am trying, for my private edification, and also because of an allotted task, to retire into the past about a quarter of a century. That is not far back. I was alive then, and most likely very interested in life. It struck me, as soon as I decided to go back to see how things looked then, that it could be done as easily as just turning over the memory in regular leaves. Yet I had not turned back far before I was lost; the years seemed mostly alike; there was but a grey and vacant expanse with apparently few outstanding features in it.
The Spirit of a Local Centre
Authors: TEACHER COUNTRY
Published: March 2008

MY friend the Editor tells me of all the kind things that have been said in appreciation of my brief paper in the Spring number of this gallant magazine, and invites me to tell more of my spiritual adventures in serving village library readers. As I understand that this magazine is finding its way to all sorts of people in towns and country places, I can only hope that my subject is big enough to command a general interest. Confident as I am in working with those I know in my own environment, I have but little confidence when addressing strange audiences, whose judgments I may not hear.
Edinburgh as a Literary Centre
Authors: SPENCE LEWIS
Published: March 2008

EDINBURGH'S prestige as a literary centre steadily declined after the death of Scott, and for a succeeding generation was lost in undistinguished shallows. Even Peveril became enmeshed in the nets of London, and Stevenson, his might and native impulse notwithstanding, could not escape them any more than Hugh Walpole and Rebecca West in our generation. Edinburgh has, indeed, come to be more of a nursery for authors, editors and publishers than the nucleus of literary activity she was formerly but there are not wanting signs that she may presently reassume a measure of her vanished importance in the world of letters. A new and active generation is arising which is alive to the possibilities of cultivating its own vineyard, and to the occlusions and heartbreaking disappointments which so frequently accompany migration southward, and probably only adequate leadership is required to bring about a renascence of literary production of a much higher level than that now apparent.
Student Books at the Local Centre
Authors: COUNTRY TEACHER A
Published: March 2008

I was much interested in the good work described in the first number of this magazine by Col. Newcombe of the Central Library for Students, because a long time ago I used to think when I came here that one of the most clamant needs on the countryside was that of meeting the book wants of the young men and young women whose bent was towards study. And there are many such in the country places, youths who have kept in touch with the village schoolmasters and teachers, and who know that there are worlds outside the boundaries of their immediate environment and knowledge, and who hope to explore abroad some day. Their numbers are not large, but here and there, as in my corner, we have them.
Books in the School
Authors: SAMPSON GEORGE
Published: March 2008

IT is always safe to criticise our educational system. What you publicly charge against it may have no foundation in fact; but that will not affect your reputation in the least; and if you can manage to suggest as well that the schools in Latvia or Liberia have introduced a great “novelty” (which our own schools have been practising without advertisement for years) the news will be headed “Great Educational Innovation,” and there will probably be an editorial asking whether it is not time this country began to wake up and take lessons from young and adventurous territories.
A Radio Talk on Libraries
Authors: LOCKE G.H.
Published: March 2008

I AM a Canadian. I belong to that land of which His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales is now a land holder and a citizen, and we hope that as a result of the recent happy visit of the Prime Minister to our country he may emulate the example of His Royal Highness and settle among us, even though temporarily. Everybody liked him, and we may be able to get a government job for him!—we need such men.
The Scottish Library Position and the Need for a Survey
Authors: PITT S.A.
Published: March 2008

THE recently published Report of the Departmental Committee on libraries is a work of profound significance to British librarianship. Notwithstanding existing national differences—affecting authorities, administrative committees, financial provisions, and so forth,—the policy and purpose of Scottish libraries are in the main identical with those of England and Wales. The two systems operate on so nearly parallel lines, that where variation in statutory provision has resulted in slightly different practice, it has developed only very minor change in the character of library activities. This similarity suggests that in all essentials the Report of the Departmental Committee will be almost as useful to Scottish as to English and Welsh libraries. In my view, however, helpful as this may be, exact information regarding the public libraries of Scotland is urgently required. They have been subject to the same vicissitudes as have affected other British libraries; those in urban areas have suffered from financial restrictions which, since 1919, have not applied in cither county or urban areas in England and Wales. Then the recent elevation of the Advocates' Library to the status of a national institution adds to the libraries administered in the public interest one capable of rendering much helpful assistance to the service generally. A review of the possibilities of improved library provision is therefore very important. Such a review should contain precise information regarding library resources, the conditions under which they are used, how far co‐operation with other libraries has been developed, and how, by co‐ordination, economies can be effected and greater efficiency obtained.
Preparation for Librarianship
Authors: BAKER ERNEST A.
Published: March 2008

ALL the schemes that have been put in operation during the last few decades for teaching, outlining courses of study, examining, and otherwise assisting young librarians to gain a competent knowledge of the science and art of librarianship, have had two main objects: first, to promote the efficiency and value of the workers in a great public service; secondly, to elevate their calling to the status of a profession. Many would say there is a third motive; some would put this foremost. But the increased emoluments which are the natural adjunct of increased efficiency ought to be regarded, not of course as unimportant, but as the sure and certain by‐product of effort in the right direction. The labourer is worthy of his hire. If he is not satisfied with what he gets, let him make himself worthier. The man who has chosen his vocation, and the man or woman also who has come into it by necessity rather than choice, will be well‐advised to make himself of the utmost use in it; his reward will follow. The better article commands the higher price in every market.
More about Books for Students
Authors: COUNTRY TEACHER A
Published: March 2008

COL. Luxmoore Newcombe has been kind enough to comment on my remarks as to the policy, in at least one county library, of buying cheap books, leaving the supply of more expensive books to the Central Library for Students. When I began to contribute these notes at the invitation of my friend the Editor, I hardly thought any essay of mine would raise a question of high policy. But that has happened! On thinking over the matter it seems to me that the policy is of considerable domestic interest, and so I boldly proffer again my own local point of view and look for such support as I think I should get.