bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Structural‐Functional Dynamics in the Analysis of Socio‐economic Systems: Development of the Approach to Understanding the Processes of Systemic Change
Authors: Chase Richard
Published: July 2006

Abstract

Theory can be equated with analogy. Both attempt to convey the unfamiliar and/or the complex through use of more familiar and/or simple constructs. The theoretical analogies of “modern” economics have been by and large patterned after a prestigious and powerful Newtonian model, i.e. they have been of the mechanical genre. It has been argued, however, that models of a biological, or evolutionary, nature would be more appropriate to analyzing economic processes and systems. This article is the first of two aimed at suggesting a form for such an evolutionary model. In this article, the analytical concepts of structure and function and their interrelationships are discussed as they apply to non‐human biological systems. Resulting feedback effects which produce dynamic change are placed within the context of the evolutionary model of stratified stability. This model explains developmental change as always tending toward more complex but more stable levels of structure, and thus unidirectional. However, the process of societal change is non‐teleological in that the particular path of change is not deterministic.
The Compatibility of Laissez‐faire With Distributive Justice
Authors: Daniel Coldwell
Published: July 2006

Abstract

At least some of the more prominent proponents of laissezfaire advocate governmental intervention for the purpose of comprehensively and substantially redistributing income in order to achieve distributive justice. It is questionable, however, that a laissez‐faire system would function in the way that is described by these same proponents if a leveling of income of the sort advocated were to be instituted. This is so because the postulates of human behavior on which the proper workings of the system are based would be rendered ineffectual as a consequence of such intervention. Indeed, if a system of laissez‐faire is to work well, there is required a certain ethos which precludes significant intervention in the name of distributive justice.
Henry George: The Economist as Moralist*
Authors: Forkosch Morris D.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Henry George derived his economic theory from his personal experience. He had the good fortune to be living in California during his formative years; there the economic events which transpired during the settlement of the North American continent—the passing of the frontier and its consequences—occurred within a time span of a few years and the telescoping of history gave him the framework for an original economic system, as well as a utopian vision of a free society. Much attention has properly been paid to George's economic ideas but he was also a moralist, one accepted by some philosophers as among the greatest. This aspect of his work, and particularly his value theory, have been neglected.
Nealtican, Mexico: A Peasant Community That Rejected the ‘Green Revolution’
Authors: Clawson David L. , Hoy Don R.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. The ‘Green Revolution’ designates the application of Mendelian principles to seed selection and crossing beginning in the 1940s to establish new plant varieties affording higher‐yielding crops. Its technology and products failed to win acceptance in some less developed countries. The case of Nealtican, Mexico, helps to explain why. Its rejection is seen, given the specific circumstances of the cultural and physical environment, as a rational response. The policy problem is to overcome site‐specific constraints—when scientific investigation has determined what they really are.
Crime Rates, Clearance Rates and Enforcement Effort: The Case of Houston, Texas*
Authors: Cloninger Dale O. , Sartorius Lester C.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Two time series relationships with respect to police and criminal activities are analyzed. These relationships are: 1. That between police input and police output where the latter was measured by arrest and convictions rates and the former by expenditures and number of officers and, 2. The hypothetical one between the probability of arrest (the clearance ratio; i.e., the proportion of reported crimes for which arrests were made) and crime rates. Theoretically, an increase in expenditures for police effort would cause an increase in the clearance rate and a concomitant reduction in the crime rate. The results of this study showed little or no response in clearance and crime rates to small changes in police expenditures. However, there was evidence that large changes in police effort did produce some response in both clearance and crime rates. The implication of these findings was that the marginal product of police input was small.
Housing Segregation of a Predominantly Middle Class Population: Residential Patterns Developed by the Cuban Immigration Into Miami, 1950‐74
Authors: Winsberg Morton D.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Latin Americans, principally Cubans, have entered Miami in large numbers since 1950. Although most who arrive have both urban and middle class backgrounds, which greatly facilitate their economic assimilation within the city, they have come in such large numbers that they are not becoming residentially assimilated with the non‐Latin population. Instead, through invasion and succession they are creating their own ethnic ghettoes, a fact which is proven in this study through use of the location quotient and indexes of dissimilarity. Miami's Black population has always been isolated from both the Latin and non‐Latin White populations. The city's major ethnic and family‐cycle groups, however, have steadily become more isolated from the Latins since 1950. Furthermore, following the departure of these groups from neighborhoods invaded by Latins, they have relocated throughout the city in a way so that they are becoming increasingly more isolated from each other.
Market Morality: Robert Nozick and the Question of Economic Justice
Authors: De Gregori Thomas R.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. The study of markets and market prices has been a central feature of economic inquiry since the 18th Century. There have always been lingering questions on the meaning of market prices. Most moderneconomists argue that there are no normative implications to price analysis. The disclaimers of some economists about normative judgments ring hollow in the light of their vigorous advocacy of free market solutions to economic and other problems. Either free market solutions are superior alternatives or they are not; one cannot have a value free analysis and an ideological advocacy at the same time. The philosopher, Robert Nozick, in Anarchy, State, and Utopia, clearly finds meaning in the market place. His entitlement theory is predicated upon free exchange of goods and productive services. The normative use of free markets in general and of Robert Nozick's formulation in particular, it is contended, are inconsistent, illogical, and unscientific.
Intra‐Family Equality and Income Distribution: Emerging Conflicts in Public Policy
Authors: Shariff Zahid
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Recent social and economic developments have generated opportunities that have been unevenly distributed among wives in husband‐wife families. Compared to others, participation rates and incomes, in particular, have been greater for wives in high‐income families or those married to high‐income earning men. One consequence of these circumstances is that income inequalities between spouses in the better off families have declined. Another is that income inequalities between families are expected to grow. It is suggested that the conflict between the two‐inter‐ and intra‐family equality—is a very real one.
Equal Rights: A Provable Moral Standard
Authors: Cord Steven B.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Our time has been characterized by growing subjectivism— which is the view that there are no objectively provable moral standards and that each individual is the ultimate arbiter for himself of right and wrong. Alienation, purposelessness and violence are some of the manifestations that would seem to follow logically from such a view, and in fact they seem more prevalent now than ever. But subjectivism is invalid in that ethics (unlike aesthetics) is a rational process, and the standards of reason are therefore the standards of ethics. The ethical standard that is provable is equal rights: specifically, that every individual has a right to his life, liberty and property, limited only by the equal rights of others. This paper attempts to show that this follows directly from the true statement that we should treat things as they are.
The Saint‐Simonians in Industry and Economic Development
Authors: Eckalbar John C.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. The connection between the ideas of the Saint‐Simonians and the spectacular growth and development of investment banking in mid‐19th century Europe is documented. Some of the economic ideas of the Saint‐Simonians are outlined, and it is shown that they looked forward to a worldwide economic association managed by a mammoth bank. The investigation then focuses on the economic activity of two prominent Saint‐Simonians—Emile and Isaac Pereire. The economic activities of the Pereires are traced from their entrepreneurial interest in railroads to the founding of the Credit Mobilier, activities which had a measurable influence on the economic development of Europe.
The Single Tax Movement and Progressivism, 1880‐1920*
Authors: Candeloro Dominic
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Henry George's Single Tax movement and the Progressive movement in the United States were inter‐related. After the publication of Progress and Poverty a political movement developed around George. It failed, partly because George was a poor politician although he had proved a master‐publicist, partly because he aroused a formidable opposition. Nevertheless the single taxers did contribute to progressive reform a specific plan for manipulating the environment in a Social Darwinistic way. George's philosophy also rejected socialism in favor of a reformed and purified capitalism—perhaps the most important theme in 20th century reform thought in America. Moreover, the Single Tax movement contributed to the democratic reform movement such leaders as Tom L. Johnson, Brand Whitlock, Louis F. Post, Frederic C. Howe, George L. Record, Newton D. Baker and Franklin K. Lane.
The Costs of Air Quality Deterioration and Benefits of Air Pollution Control: Estimates of Mortality Costs for Two Pollutants in 40 US. Metropolitan Areas
Authors: Liu Ben‐Chieh
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Although it is still impossible to place a dollar value on human lives and on the total health effeets of air pollution, the excessive mortality costs of two air pollutants–sulfur dioxide (SO2 and total suspended particulates (TSP)‐have been quantified for most of the 40 Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the United States. Based on 1970 data, total mortality damage for SO2 was estimated at $887 million and for TSP at $1.044 billion. The benefit from reducing these pollutants could exceed $1.328 billion annually, a figure useful in evaluating control costs.
Chamberlin's Experimental Markets Revisited: A Computerized Journey
Authors: Berczi Andrew
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Professor Edward Hastings Chamberlin conducted many experiments about imperfect markets at Harvard University, using his students as bargaining agents. He found that transaction volumes (i.e. number of units sold) were consistently higher in these “imperfect” markets than would have been the case if the markets were “perfect.” This he found surprising but explainable. He also found, however, that the average transaction prices were consistently lower than their equivalents in perfect markets. That he found both surprising and unexplainable. He finally assumed that the biased behavior of his students caused that phenomenon. In the present study, his experiments were replicated but the alleged bias was eliminated by replacing the students with a computer which was programmed to deal impartially and objectively with all buyers and sellers. On completion of the simulation, it was found that the transaction volumes were indeed significantly higher than their perfect market equivalents, but average prices were very comparable to their counterparts in perfect markets. Thus Chamberlin's hypothesis was correct on both counts. This verification of the suspect results we consider very significant, because they may have far reaching effects on welfare economics. As more ‘transactions may be completed at essentially the same average price, perhaps the efficiency of these markets could be improved by making these markets less perfect rather than less imperfect.
Genuine or Spurious Institutionalism?Veblen and Ayres Seen from a Neo‐Classical Perspective Raises the Question
Authors: Junker Louis
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Orthodox critics of Institutional Economics, such as Professor David Seckler, are often confused—abysmally, in my personal opinion—about the basic socioeconomic and philosophical foundations of Institutionalism. In order to demonstrate the interpretive errors of Seckler's orthodox individualistic bias, which I regard as inanities, and his resultant perception of Institutionalist principles, which I think is farcical, an outline discussion of those key principles is presented under seven headings; 1) The Problem of Teleology; 2) Dualistic Philosophy; 3) The Concept of Culture; 4) The Nature of Institutions; 5) The Ceremonial‐Instrumental Dichotomy; 6) The Technological‐Scientific Process, and 7) The Value Problem.
Economic Analysis in Talmudic Literature: Some Ancient Studies of Value
Authors: Ohrenstein Roman A.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. The Talmudic Sages displayed a remarkable understanding of economic laws and practices. A knowledge of this understanding would be useful for the development of western economic thought. Especially is this true of the insight these Jewish scholars won into the nature of value, one of the most controversial economic concepts today. The Talmud—a compilation of studies, disputations and interpretations from Palestinian and Babylonian academies from the 3rd century B.C.E. to the 5th century C.E.—contains a complex system of value concepts in which economic aspects are part of a larger set of ethical and legal doctrines. This includes “ideal” and “market value,” the value of human life and its link to man's productive capacity, the derivation of present value from calculations of expected income flow from the person's labor, the nucleus of the concept of ”human capital,” of “free labor” as against “slave labor,” subjective and objective value with the latter made subjective and the former objective, psychic value and marginal utility. The most intriguing doctrine is that of a “valueless value”; the Talmudic sages attempted the quantification of a negative value couched in positive and psycho‐economic terms, an idea which, it is held, has no parallel in western economic thought. This idea, it is argued, has significance for modern welfare economics; it is a distinct category in which the valueless subject is given a positive numerical value (1) (2).
A Bid‐Price Model for ‘Non‐Western’ Cities: Revised Specification and Empirical Test
Authors: Dawsey Cyrus Bassett
Published: July 2006

Abstract. A significant portion of the literature concerning intra‐urban residential location has involved the development of a utility maximization bid‐price model which relates income and distance to work. When distance‐overcoming costs are monetary, a positive income‐distance function is predicted, and studies in several Anglo‐American cities have provided some confirmation. If expenses are made to be temporal, the model forecasts a negative relationship because the opportunity cost of commuting is directly variable with income. A study was conducted in Piracicaba (pop. 125,000), Brazil, and neither positive nor negative income‐distance functions were encountered for any of the transportation differentiated groups. The findings indicate that the prevalence of walking, bicycling and other commuting modes which consume large amounts of time does not adequately explain the “non‐western” residential pattern (negative income‐distance to the Central Business District function) which is common in many Latin American cities. The results also suggest that hypotheses which consider spatial relationships between residences and sites other than the place of work may prove to be more fruitful (1).
Mary E. Switzer: The Entrepreneur Within the Federal Bureaucracy
Authors: Berkowitz Edward
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Mary E. Switzer (1901‐1972), a federal civil servant from 1921 to 1970, had a career which provides a case study of entrepreneurship within a bureaucracy. At first a staffer in progressive era social agencies, she became an assistant to Josephine Roche, well known advocate of government social programs. At first Switzer opposed federal health programs, believing that centralization of control would harm them. Then she became an advocate of federal aid to the local communities and health enterprises, with decentralized control over research and health services. Taking over vocational rehabilitation, she harmonized private and public power and at least managed to make a rehabilitation approach to social problems the cornerstone of President Eisenhower's domestic social welfare program. But the rehabilitation approach failed when applied to unemployment and poverty in general.
Henry George, Biblical Morality and Economic Ethics: Some Conclusions from a Lifetime's Study of the Relation Between Ethics and Economics*
Authors: Bkadley Preston
Published: July 2006

Abstract. The writer [Dr. Preston Bradley] discovered Henry George through reading one of his great literary followers, Leo Tolstoy; later the author came to know intimately many prominent Single Taxers. The experiences convinced him that the basic economic ideas of George cannot be successfully challenged. As a religious leader, the writer believes that religion should never and cannot ever be separated from life. So he believes that the application of ethics to economic life is as religious as the statement of Christianity's oldest and most sacred creed. George formulated a reformed system for capitalism based on biblical morality, the highest ethical standards of the modern age and its most exalted insights. We live in an age of con‐tinuing economic crisis. We must infuse our moral and religious prin‐ciples into our economic system or we are lost. This is a responsi‐bility bequeathed us hy the wisest and best thinkers of the past, among the greatest of whom was Henry George.
Pyramids, Derricks and Mule Teams in the Yucatán Peninsula: A Second Effort In 2,500 Years to Develop a Jungle and Forest Area
Authors: Crist Raymond E. , Paganini Louis A.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Over a period of 1200 years the Maya civilization in the Yucatáin Peninsula of Mexico rose, flourished, declined and fell. Jungle and forest closed in on great cities, pyramids, monuments and roads, and the area became depopulated. In recent decades a second effort is being made to achieve the economic development of the region. Once again a viable agriculture is being established. Oil deposits are being exploited, as the basis of local industries. Networks of roads link the communities of the region with each other, with the state capital and with the national capital. The Mayans, who once remained aloof in forest enclaves, are being integrated into the nation by a successful literacy program. The results of educational, settlement and industrialization programs raise hopes that the highly culturaliy endowed Maya and their newcomer neighbors may be laying the foundation for another civilization that could be another milestone in the progress of humanity.
Measurement of the Socioeconomic Impact of Lake Restoration: An Assessment Model Employing a Benefit/Cost Cross‐Impact Probabilistic Approach
Authors: Liu Ben‐chieh , Christiansen Neils , Jaksch John
Published: July 2006

Abstract. A number of lake restoration demonstraton projects have been launched by the Environmental Protection Agency as a result of Public Law 92‐500. To evaluate the cost‐effectiveness of these public investment projects requires the development of an assessment model. The proposed Benefit/Cost Cross‐Impact Probabilistic Approach (BCCIPA) is one attempt at assessing the interdependent socioeconomic and environmental impacts of the lake restoration project over time, both quantitatively and qualitatively, so that various changes brought about by the project can be investigated and evaluated in two comparative stages for three points in time—before, during and after project implementation.
The Time Horizon of Planned Social Change: II. How the Advocates of Social Reform May Expedite Their Purpose Through Temporal Calibration
Authors: Noyes Richard
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Recent recognition of time horizon as a variable in human cerebration opens a window on the question of how worthwhile social reform might be expedited. The careers of three prophets in this millennium—Bartolomé de Las Casas, John Eliot and Jonathan Edwards—support the premise that unusually long time horizons needed for prophecy create an inherent differential between the prophet's horizon and the time frame of his contemporaries. The resulting discalibration is an impediment to communication. Rudimentary measurement of the time horizons of modern‐day proponents of land value taxation, followers of Henry George, indicated horizons longer than the current social time frame. It follows that some calibration of that difference is advisable. Adjustments in an individual's own time horizon are apt to be more productive than efforts to shift the time frame as a whole.
Toward an Extension and Revision of the Concept of Waste
Authors: Winnthrop Henry
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Conventionally, the concept of waste has been used largely to indicate physical waste, which itself is of enormous magnitude. Sometimes non‐physical waste is included. But some forms, like the waste of time, talents and career opportunities, are not ordinarily thought of as waste, nor are such wastes as arise, for example, from avoidable economic errors or managerial misjudgments. The concept requires considerable extension and substantial revision if wastes are to be prevented through management expertise and use of standard methodologies in the management sciences. For the number of new forms of non‐physical waste, of which many examples are cited, is legion.
Site Value Taxation and the Timing of Land Development
Authors: Douglas Richard W.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Recent writers have challenged the traditional view that a tax on site value is neutral, but there is still disagreement as to the effects of the tax. The site value tax affects the timing of land development in that it provides an incentive for landowners to develop land sooner than under a property tax levied on improvements also. Confusion has resulted from a failure to distinguish market value from development value. The incidence of the site value tax must take into account the dynamics of untaxing capital and of the capitalization of the tax increase on land values, as well as of the resulting increase of land supply and its effect in further reducing land values. The increased profitability of capital improvements could then increase land rent from the demand side. Obviously, amidst such dynamic changes, the overall effect on land values and rents is unsettled pending further research.
Modernization and Modes of Production in the North Atlantic: A Critique of Policy Formation for the Development of Marginal Maritime Communities
Authors: Prattis J. I.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Marginality and development of North Atlantic maritime communities are viewed in theoretical perspective. The ecological, technological and community circumstances are similar, while the political and economic frameworks within which the communities are incorporated vary. The components of modernization are discussed and the process of structural differentiation is stressed as it produces a heterogeneous set of economic sectors thereby establishing the conditions for the evolution of marginality. The properties of traditional as opposed to modern systems are examined in a critique of the standard orthodoxies of development planning. A position is developed which states that a restructuring of the ties of economic interdependance is a necessary prerequisite for effective development. Tradition and its persistence in the North Atlantic are viewed as an adaptive response to a situation of persisting disadvantage.
Bureaucrats as “Social Engineers”: Federal Welfare Programs in Herbert Hoover's America
Authors: Berkowitz Edward D. , Mcquaid Kim
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Historians interested in 20th century American reform often seek to analyze the ideologies of political leaders separately from the institutions that these same leaders created. Such emphases on ideas, as opposed to actions, has, for example, led “revisionist” American historians to argue that the presidencies of Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt were “conceptually continuous.” Our examination of the major social welfare programs undertaken by the federal government in the 1920s disputes this claim. Examination of the operations of the federal bureaucracy instead of the rhetoric of politicians demonstrates the existence of decided policy differences between the Hoover and Roosevelt eras. “Efficiency” analogues dominant during the Hoover era were replaced with “direct service‐provider” approaches which created a clear distinction between private and public welfare programs. Elements of “continuity” between the two eras have been overdrawn. Background is provided for increased understanding of some of the policy implications of America's contemporary welfare debate—particularly about “rehabilitation” strategies and/or rationales for action in the social welfare field.
Lincoln Staffens and the McNamara Case: A Progressive Response to Class Conflict
Authors: Shapiro Herbert
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Lincoln Stevens' involvement with the McNamara case was one of the major concerns of his life. His Autobiography is not fully dependable regarding this incident; churches were not uniformly hostile to the settlement that ended the case and the Los Angeles Times, ignoring commitments to meet labor grievances, maintained its antiunion position. Steffens’ experimentation with “Golden Rule”Christian love as an alternative to class conflict reflected his divergent allegiances to Progressives who sought reform and to radicals, basically opposed to corporate capitalism. It also reflected his own rejection of class partisanship. Although the pledges made in the settlement were broken, Steffens remained loyal to the McNamaras and continued to argue it is futile to punish individuals for acts rooted in social conflict.
The Effectiveness of Public Assistance Payments in Reducing Poverty
Authors: Dellaportas George
Published: July 2006

Abstract. This study investigates the effectiveness of income transfer in reducing poverty in the U.S.A It does so by applying the concepts of set theory to the population segments in poverty and under public assistance. The extent of their intersection versus either subset, i.e., their conditional probability, as well as the extent of either of the non‐intersected segments of the union versus the respective subset, are shown to be reliable indicators of this effectiveness. The last two segments, representing errors of “omission” or of “commission,” are analyzed for their uniform patterns by type of residence and race. Probable reasons for their occurrence are discussed, and certain limitations of the used data are examined.
Unemployment as a Factor in Early Retirement Decisions
Authors: Bould Sally
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Is retiring early a way for older workers to cope with the stigma and discouragement of unemployment? A regression analysis using the National Longitudinal Survey sample of American men age 52–64 in 1973 shows that weeks of previous unemployment is significantly related to early retirement for both Black and White males. This relationship holds when controlling for social security and pension eligibility, assets, health limitations, family responsibilities, occupation, changes in the unemployment rate and urban residence. The results suggest that social policy concerning retirement prior to age 65 should take into account the important role of unemployment in pushing workers out of the labor force into early retirement.
Foreign Capital and Development Strategy in Irish Industrialization, 1958–70
Authors: Long Frank
Published: July 2006

Abstract. In the 1930s the government of the Irish Republic instituted an import substitution economic development strategy to diversify economic activity. This potential was later exhausted. In 1958 a new strategy was adopted, emphasizing the use of foreign capital and reliance on the external market. It yielded many benefits, detailed in this paper, but involved a number of shortcomings associated with multinational corporations when they operate in less developed countries. These are specified. Current policy since 1973 seeks to mobilize local resources and promises mitigation of some of the problems. But it is not adequate to reduce some of the central problems arising from the reliance on foreign capital.
In Defense of ‘Unbridled’ Freedom of Contract
Authors: Mack Eric
Published: July 2006

Abstract. The doctrine of freedom of contract, viz., that each person should have the liberty to enter into and the right to insist on the fulfillment of any rights‐respecting contract, is defined and defended as an implication of a Lockean emphasis on natural rights. This natural rights perspective requires the rejection of all collective social goal theories, e.g., utilitarianism, and the rejection of objections to freedom of contract which proceed from such theories. Four specific objections to freedom of contract, each of which appears to flow from an individualistic emphasis on freedom and rights, are considered. But each of these is dismissed either for misconceiving the nature of freedom or for involving an underlying appeal to some implausible social goal theory.
Interlocking Corporate Directorships as a Social Network
Authors: Koenig Thomas , Gogel Robert
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Outside directors are now a majority on the boards of the‘Fortune 500’corporations creating a network of interconnections through interlocking directorates. Details of this phenomenon and explanations for its significance can be found in an earlier article in this Journal*. This network can be visualized as a system through which common norms, values, and a sense of “weness” can flow. This sense of being part of a corporate establishment would have significant effects on corporate conduct. From what top corporate leaders say and do, the validity and implications of this hypothesis are examined. This class hegemony theory views power as shared within a system of social relationships, in contrast to the management control theory which considers management as in total control.
Scientists, Engineers and the Organization of Work
Authors: Alexander Kenneth O.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Scientists and engineers experience job dissatisfaction and perform below potential productivity, largely because of conflict between professionalism and work bureaucracies. Research has documented potential gain on both counts through reduced hierarchical power of management and movement toward greater participation in shared decision‐making. But relative reduction in managerial power is not likely; neither is the spread of unionism for scientists and engineers as an offset to that power. Furthermore, any assumed transfer of power a la Veblen assures no social gain. Work organization for scientists and engineers is of direct relevance for economics. Yet, the human capital development in economics has ignored the entire question of the effect of work organization on productivity and job satisfaction. In doing so, it has divorced economics from other disciplines and sacrificed realism and relevance for quantitative rigor.
Interpreting Institutions' in Veblen's Evolutionary Theory
Authors: Weed Frank J.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. The form and basic properties of Thorstein Veblen's evolutionary theory are analyzed as an interpretative strategy for understanding the social institutions of modern industrial society. By formulating hypothetical historical reconstructions based on his principles of social action and institutional transformation, Veblen creates an heuristic construction that serves as a formula for observation and analysis of what he finds to be the essential meaning of existing behavior. This gives to his work a critical style, but also a depth of analysis that has a degree of predictive validity.
Property Tax Equalization Rates: Implications of Their Use in Tax Inequality Cases in the City of New York
Authors: Schroeder Larry
Published: July 2006

Abstract. The New State Board of Equalization and Assessment annually determines for each taxing jurisdiction within the state, an estimate of the ratio of its assessed values to market values. The methods used in constructing such ratios are reviewed as well as the ways in which the ratios are used. Special emphasis is given to the use of the ratio by taxpayers in tax inequality or certiorari cases. Using data on New York City, it is estimated that maximum use of the ratio in such cases could lead to as much as a 22 percent reduction in the City's property tax base. As well, estimates are made of the redistributive effects across different property types in the city under the assumption that tax rates are increased to just offset the revenue effects of the tax base erosion. The most obvious effect is the increased burden on residential housing owner‐occupiers.
Jungle Geopolitics in Guyana: How a Communist Utopia That Ended in Massacre Came to be Sited
Authors: Crist Raymond E.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. When nearly 1,000 American men, women and children lost their lives in a mass murder and suicide rite in 1978 staged by a madman, Jim Jones, a former Christian minister turned Communist leader, many Americans asked, “Why?” The press, overcoming earlier lethargy, amassed facts permitting a sophisticated psychological and sociological explanation. Neglected, however, was the question why was the Jonestown Communist utopia sited in the Guyana jungle? Given the human and geographical circumstances, its siting in the Guyana rainforest was highly probable, affording evidence that, to some extent, at least, people and their geography determine human events.
Radical Individualism vs. Institutionalism, I The Division of Institutionalists into ‘Humanists’ and ‘Behaviorists’
Authors: Bush Paul D.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. David Seckler has filled an important gap in the methodological literature of economics by providing a “radical individualist” critique of American institutionalism (1). Seckler argues that institutionalists have been unable to develop a coherent methodology because of their ambivalence on the issue of “free will versus determinism.” Thorstein Veblen, he says, entertained both “humanistic” and “behavioristic” hypotheses in his explanations of human behavior and, consequently, descended into obscurantism. The institutionalist literature in general reflects these contradictory methodological tendencies; for example, John R. Commons was a “humanist”, whereas Clarence Ayres was a “behaviorist.” Seckler's critique is not, however, persuasive. He fails to recognize the difficulties inherent in the philosophical dualisms posited by “radical individualism,” and he employs them credulously in his critique of institutionalism. Equally damaging to his argument is his failure to give adequate consideration to the meaning and significance of the “institutional dichotomy” in institutional analysis.
Economic Integration of Immigrants
Authors: Casmon Naomi
Published: July 2006

Abstract. This empirical study of the processes by which immigrants are absorbed into the economy and society of their host country was conducted among 500 families who had arrived in Israel from 3 to 13 years earlier. The following variables were found to have a positive impact on their economic integration: white collar occupations of husband and wife, young age, small size of the family, residence in proximity to a central city in contrast to living in a development town, and greater length of their stay in the host country. Analysis showed, however, that economic integration had no significant impact on any of the other indices of absorption, including the general index of “rootedness in the country.” Hence for immigrants who come to the host country and remain a significant length of time—in the case of this sample, at least three years—more resources should be allocated to their cultural and social integration and less to the economic aspects of absorption. The study showed that there is at least one salient malleable variable, town of residence; it can be controlled because most immigrants to Israel depend on the government for housing. Further research is needed on immigrants who migrated a second time during early years in their stay; they were not included in this study. It may be that, for this latter group, economic integration is a crucial aspect of absorption.
Revenue Alternatives for State and Local Governments: Crisis‐ridden Areas and Those Seeking Fiscal Equity and Stability Offered New Options
Authors: Hansen Reed
Published: July 2006

Abstract. State and local governments—those ridden by revenue crises and those committed to an effort to achieve fiscal equity and stability—have a variety of revenue alternatives open to them from recent research and accumulated knowledge in the discipline of public finance. These options are defined and explained in Financing and Managing State and Local Governments by two fiscal specialists, Richard W. Lindholm and Hartojo Wignjowijoto. Federal aid to the 47 largest cities has risen to a third of their total revenues without solving their fiscal problems. The authors show how tax reform emphasizing substitution of a land value tax for the taxes on improvements and personalty, and reform of public planning and management policies could orient government activity to maximizing society's goals instead of society's problems. The role of local government fiscal policy in the national economy is explained through a clear and concise description of macroeconomic model‐building.
Henry George the Classical Model and Technological Change:*The Ignored Alternative to the Single Tax in Progress and Poverty
Authors: Petrella Frank
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Henry George's vision of land monopolization as the source of growing rentier income was compatible with all elements in the predominant Ricardian‐Millian classical distribution model except the rent‐reducing effects of technological change and Malthusian population growth as the catalyst underlying income distribution. Since George also rejected Malthusianism on ethical and philosophical grounds, his analysis focused on the autonomous nature of rent income with respect to population and technological change. George analyzed the distributive consequences of both increasing technology with constant population, and constant technology with increasing population. In the latter case, George, in an ultimate rejection of Malthusianism, demonstrated an optimistic increasing returns to scale of population growth. However, although capable, George never considered a logical extension of his analysis, namely, the dynamic case of changing population, technology, and increasing returns. This analysis would have contradicted his predictions of the trend in relative income shares and the uniqueness of the single tax as the solution to social and economic distress.
The Revenue Potential of Site Value Tax: Extension and Update of General Equilibrium Model With Recent Empirical Estimates of Several Key Parameters
Authors: Grosskopf Shawna
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Although appealing on the consideration of efficiency, the site (land) value tax has been dismissed by some economists as an unviable alternative to the local real estate tax on the ground that it cannot generate sufficient revenue. From earlier work based on a general equilibrium model, however, a switch from a real estate to an equal yield site value tax could result in an increase in equilibrium land prices (and hence the site value tax base). In particular, equilibrium land prices will rise with a site value relative to a real estate tax if: (L+K/L) > ex. (fL+ fk)/fk. sx+ ex. fL Critical to that theoretical result are the magnitudes of several parameters including the percent land constitutes of total real estate value, (L + K/L), the elasticity of substitution, sx, the elasticity of demand for real estate ex, and the output elasticities, fk and fL. Based on recent empirical estimates of those parameters, the above stated condition holds.
Examining the Federal Reserve
Authors: Love Charles
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Vritz Redlich (1892–1978) played a leading role in the development of the analytic approach in history and in establishing the new institutional history that combines entrepreneurial and business historv and sociology. A member, in economics, of the German historical school, he spent 16 years in the chemical industry before the triumph of Nazism forced him to emigrate from Germany in 1936. After teaching at various colleges until 1942, he spent the rest of his life doing research in the libraries of Harvard University, producing several notable works in economic history, including a classical study of American banking, and pioneering in entrepreneurial history.
Fritz Redlich, 1892‐1978: The Man and the Scholar
Authors: Gaston Arcand Charles
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Fritz Redlich (1892‐1978) played a leading role in the development of the analytic approach in history and in establishing the new institutional history that combines entrepreneurial and business history and sociology. A member, in economics, of the German historical school, he spent 16 years in the chemical industry before the triumph of Nazism forced him to emigrate from Germany in 1936. After teaching at various colleges until 1942, he spent the rest of his life doing research in the libraries of Harvard University, producing several notable works in economic history, including a classical study of American banking, and pioneering in entrepreneurial history.
The Politics of Municipal Employment Policy: A Comparative Study of U.S. Cities
Authors: Baker David G. , Colby David C.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Municipal employment policy has been partially ignored in urban research, perhaps because of the implicit assumption that employment policy parallels expenditure and taxation policy. However, a strong relationship is found between municipal employment levels and the specified socioeconomic environment. Relationships between that environment and employment policy deviate considerably from expenditure policy. Expenditure policy analysis suggests hypotheses, but does not accurately predict the relative strength of association. Although expenditure policy is more directly related to municipal economic environment, public employment policy is related to the sociopolitical environment.
Political Profit: Taxing and Spending in the Hierarchical State
Authors: Cuzán Alfred G.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. The actions of government fall into two types: taxes (the taking of property) and expenditures (the awarding of gifts). Politicians profit as long as the value of resources raised from taxation exceeds the cost of expenditures. From their point of view, fiscal efficiency consists in maximizing the support obtained by spending and minimizing the opposition generated by taxing. This is accomplished by spending on well‐organized groups and taxing the uninformed public. This results in the “iron law of political redistribution” in which income and wealth are transferred from the latter to the former. In a hierarchical State, it is usually profitable for those at the top to centralize control over taxing and spending, if for no other reason than to make it difficult for politicians at lower levels to compete against them. This gives rise to the “law of hierarchical centralization”—in a hierarchical State, power becomes centralized over time. The greater the power of government, the faster this process takes place. In order to avoid this problem, one could design constitutions which are non‐hierarchical in nature, in which each unit of government is completely autonomous from the others, as firms are in a free market.
Adolph Lowe's Methodological Alternative for Economic Research and Policy
Authors: Lissner Will
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Social scientists and philosophers are engaged in a profound re‐examination of the foundations of economic science. Among them the economist, Adolph Lowe, opened a new vista. First, in his Economics and Sociology: A Plea for Cooperation in the Social Sciences (1935) he argued compellingly for a unified social science. Lowe introduced there the concept of “instrumental analysis” which he greatly modified in On Economic Knowledge (1965) and applied to a major issue of contemporary economics in The Path of Economic Growth (1976). Instrumental analysis is intended to achieve a system of “political economics,” a theory for deriving one or more paths—a sequence of positions—over which an initial state of an economy can be transformed into a terminal state—a goal itself stipulated by political decision. Instrumental analysis is also used to determine measures of public control to achieve the behavioral pattern suitable to set and keep the system on the goal‐adequate trajectory.
‘Radical Individualism’ vs. Institutionalism, II: Philosophical Dualisms as Apologetic Constructs Based on Obsolete Psychological Preconceptions
Authors: Bush Paul D.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. David Seckler, in his study of Veblen and the institutionalists, adopted a viewpoint which is a philosophical orientation least likely to enable him to know what Veblen and the institutionalists “really mean.” He accepted a pantheon of philosophical dualisms—e.g., “Humanism” vs. “behaviorism,”“normative” vs. “positive”— which Veblen and his followers reject, and particularly Mises's “methodological dualism” which would make science the study of ideal type individual actions instead of an experimental effort to understand the social processes of “cumulative causation” as they are found in the real world. Seckler's reliance on these obsolete psychological preconceptions of “radical individualism” causes him to neglect the powerful normative elements of Veblen's work. Yet it is precisely Veblen's normative methodology that gives rise to the “institutional dichotomy” in contemporary institutionalist thought.
The New Barbarians: The Continuing Relevance of Henry George*
Authors: Kelly John M.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. The world's peoples are demanding: who should be the Lords of the Land or—should anyone be? By what right does anyone acquire the privilege of monopolizing that which should be the heritage of all? A century ago Henry George saw the nature of this question, the land question, outlined the solution and foresaw the consequences if we failed to address it. The rioting in the slums, the looting and other crime in the cities and rural areas, the tension of our time, the rising fears, paranoia and greed bear testimony to the legacy George foresaw. Against monopoly and privilege, George raised the banner of Justice and Liberty, achievable only by taxing the land and untaxing labor and its products. The failure to act upon the land question is at the bottom of the threat of a new barbarism. But the Intellectual Revolution fostered by the new computer technology promises to undermine myths that have enslaved the human mind.