bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Economic Activity and Social Indicators: A Rural‐Urban Discontinuum?
Authors: Perry Charles S.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Comparisons of urban and rural areas tend to assume that a rural‐urban continuum exists as regards economic and social indicators of well‐being and that rural places are fairly homogeneous. Analysis of Kentucky counties indicates that rural‐urban differences exist as regards economic well‐being and objective social indicators. However, rural‐urban differences are not consistent with respect to subjective social indicators; and there are important differences among economic types of rural counties as regards both economic and social indicators. Thus, the rural‐urban continuum is not general and it is important to distinguish types of rural counties.
On the Use and Abuse of Thorstein Veblen in Modern American Sociology, II: Daniel Bell and the ‘Utopianizing’ of Veblen's Contribution and Its Integration by Robert Merton and C. W. Mills
Authors: Tilman Rick , Simich J. L.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. The analyses and applications of Thorstein Veblen's social theory by Daniel Bell, Robert Merton, and C. Wright Mills are criticized. Bell's analysis is deficient because it distorts Veblen's proposal for economic reconstruction and because it treats him as a hopelessly Utopian theorist. Merton's use of Veblen's theory of status emulation by linking it with latent and manifest functions is a noteworthy accomplishment; yet Merton's utilization of Veblenian concepts is too sparing and essentially apolitical. Only the treatment of Veblen's theories by Mills is theoretically systematic and sufficiently political in tone. The significant import of Veblen's work for an indigenous critical theory resides in his theories of social value, status emulation, conflict and cultural lag.
A Centenary Reconsideration of Bellamy's Looking Backward
Authors: Samuels Wakren J.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Edward Bellamy's utopian novel, Looking Backward, was a best seller in its time and is an American classic today. It launched a social movement, influenced Thorstein Veblen and a number of other social thinkers and raised questions of pertinence in our day. Looking Backward is outstanding in a genre that helps to develop social values, particularly regarding justice. It is a stinging critique of a status quo that still endures and it gives voice to felt opinions regarding change then and now. Bellamy's utopia involved centralization of power in a static economy and society (ideas from which our generation recoils) and, though not foreseen by Bellamy, the creation of a managerial class, not wholly different from the ruling classes of his day and ours, in capitalist America and State socialist Soviet Union. But he correctly noted the growth of concentrated power in American society As social criticism, Looking Backward is a contribution of the first rank to the effort to understand and improve mankind's society and condition. The advance of the social sciences has not made its contribution obsolete.
Important Issues and Serious Problems in Flat‐rate Income Taxation
Authors: Harriss C. Lowell
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Dozens of important issues are connected with the proposal of flat‐rate income taxation How much, if any, activity would leave the underground economy for the reported one? Would effort and saving change? Would efficiency in the allocation of business and personal resources he effected? High rates of taxation and differences in tax rates influence behavior for better or worse. Serious proposals to change them deserve serious consideration, but difficult though not insuperable problems are involved and must be studied.
Land Reform in Kiaochow, China: From 1898 to 1914 the Menace of Disastrous Land Speculation was Averted by Taxation
Authors: Silagi Michael , Faulkner Susan N.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Mistaken land policies in overseas possessions of the German Empire resulted in disastrous land peculation. The small German Land Reform League vainly petitioned the Chancellor for a rational colonial land policy. Von Wissman, East African Governor, stopped the selling of crown lands, ordering their leasing. The speculators and the press denounced him. But the League supported him and the Colonial Office distributed its periodical to leading officials. The articles reached the Navy Department and high officers were won to the cause of land reform. When Admiral von Diederichs occupied Kiaochow in 1898, he was determined, as was his superior. Admiral von Tirpitz, to prevent land speculation. The Kiaochow Land and Tax Statute, in force from 1898 to 1914, achieved their goal. Inspired by Henry George, it was written by Wilhelm Schrameier, a young colonial officer who became Imperial Commissioner.
Restriction of Farm Ownership as Rent‐seeking Behavior: Family Farmers Have It Their Way
Authors: Laband David N.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Restriction of foreign ownership of U.S. farmland has an obvious cost of foregone capital gains to farmers Yet their push to achieve state regulation of foreign investment in agricultural land has a sound economic basis. If required acreage expansion and high prices for land combine to force small, family farmers out of business, the value of their accumulated human capital falls precipitously, since it is soil specific With a large foreign demand for farmland which induces a tremendous rate of land price inflation, capital gains on their land swamp potential human capital losses. However, marginal participation in the U.S. farmland market by foreigners creates capital gains on land which are insufficient to compensate farmers for lost human capital, and creates a rationale for regulation The empirical results demonstrate that the pattern of legislative restrictions against foreign ownership of farmland is a function of the relative political power wielded by family farmers.
Do Better Wages Reduce Crime? A Research Note
Authors: Myers Samuel L.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Recent research has called into question theoretical and empirical findings demonstrating a deterrent effect of punishment. Also challenged has been the view that improved employment opportunities help to reduce participation in illegitimate activities. This research note summarizes newly published econometric findings revealing that better wages and employment indeed do appear to reduce individual recidivism rates, at least in the major data set studied. The data are drawn from the Baltimore LIFE experiment. Maximum likelihood methods are used to estimate the probability of recidivism one year after release from prison and the probability of avoiding rearrest or “survival” each month after release from prison. It is found that higher average weekly wages are associated with lower recidivism and higher survival rates. In contrast, no evidence is found to confirm a deterrent effect of punishment. [Complete documentation is published in S. L. Myers, Jr “Estimating the Economic Model of Crime: Employment vs. Punishment Effects,”.
Misuses of Statistics: Lessons for Statisticians, Non‐statisticians, Students and Teachers
Authors: Spirer Herbert F. , Jaffe A. J.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Statisticians, students, teachers and even non statisticians can learn from a study of misuses of statistics. The practitioners can improve their use of statistical methods in research, the student can learn the correct method of analysis and the effects of incorrect analysis, the teacher can improve teaching and the non statistician can learn to evaluate statistical inputs to decision making All users of statistics, professional and nonprofessional, can benefit from the same examples. In this paper, the authors categorize misuses, by both the nature and effect of the misuse, and give examples for each category.
Toward a Constructive Theory for Anti‐poverty Policy
Authors: Jones Brian J.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. What the “ideal”anti‐poverty policy is cannot be answered without a validated theory of income deprivation. Such a theory is not yet available from economics. And sociology cannot yet provide a verified theory of why particular people are poor. The cultural and situationist hypotheses offer no adequate explanation of poverty and hence billions spent on policies based on them produced no results. Network analysis extends the institutionalist hypothesis but remains to be validated. However, empirical studies strongly suggest (though they do not prove) that structural changes in educational or employment opportunity are more realistic than compensatory or general aid programs.
Attacking Housing Discrimination
Authors: Hershfield David C.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. In 1967 and 1968, the United States Department of Defense instituted a program of “Nondiscriminatory Housing for Military Personnel.” Data gathered in this program offer a unique opportunity to examine interactions between the armed forces and society in the housing market. The key factor explaining variations in the relative success of this program in different areas of the country appears to have been the importance of the military to the local economy.
Radical Liberalism and Radical Education
Authors: Lichtenstein Peter M.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Radical liberalism is a social philosophy which spans two traditions: liberalism (both classical and modern) and left wing radicalism. The former seeks the liberation of individuals from political/economic power; the latter seeks to overturn a social order based on privilege and property The writings of Illich, Freire, and Dewey represent an educational philosophical tradition that falls squarely into the radical liberal school. All three educators generally share a similar attachment to pluralistic, developmental, solidaristic, and egalitarian values. They also desire educational systems which are based on participatory democracy Theirs is a praxis oriented, consciousness raising educational alternative which serves as the starting point for revolutionary social change.
Libertarianism and Private Property in Land
Authors: Horn Walter
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Whether or not we have any natural right to landownership, like life and liberty, the institution of private property is agood. The utility produced by private property in land is overshadowed by the evils produced by the speculative withholding of supramarginal land unless compensatory payments are required of landowners. Such payments should be made to those living in the same “rental area” and should be of an amount that will eliminate all incentive to land speculation. It is not always either desirable or possible to require that all of one's land value be paid in compensation. and even if such payments could be accomplished, they would not always be enough to redistribute the product stemming from the “monopolization” of real property The proper compensatory payment should reflect real increases in the value of real estate since its purchase, minus the value of improvements to the site made by the owner.
Italian Debate and Dialogue on Thorstein Veblen
Authors: Tilman Rick , Fontana Andrea
Published: July 2006

Abstract. In the first quarter of the 20th century, Thorstein Veblen ranked with John Dewey, George H. Mead, and Charles Sanders Peirce among the topmost American original and creative thinkers. In Italy he was the subject of much debate and dialogue but the perception of his scholarly work evolved through several phases. He was seen first as a forerunner of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal. Then as a leading figure in institutional economics. Finally as a social scientist pioneering in the interdisciplinary approach to analysis and to the formulation of public policy, as well as an early Futurologist But his considerable influence in America contrasts with his lack of influence in Italy, probably because cultural differences hamper understanding.
The Revenue Adequacy of Site Value Taxation in a Ricardian System of Economic Growth
Authors: Swint Michael , Stone Gerald W. , Byrns Ralph T.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. The federal administration has sought to reduce the growth of federal expenditures by shifting some government costs to state and local governments. An increased expenditure burden for the latter governments would require increased tax rates for existing types of taxes that have adverse impacts on economic incentives. Land taxes are considered as a source of revenue because of their efficiency aspects. Unfortunately this idea is all too often dismissed because of alleged revenue inadequacy. Thus an analysis is called for of the revenue adequacy of site value taxation in a Ricardian model of economic growth. The model allows analysis of revenue adequacy over time in an economic growth context that is suited for the long range tax‐expenditure planning horizon with which local governments are faced. When revenue needs are primarily dependent upon the population size, and the fisc is initially operating at a deficit, for a land tax to permit attainment of balance, per capita rents must be increasing over time. Also when the economy's public service demand is primarily dependent upon income, deficits will not occur if rental share exceeds the share of income devoted to public output. Not all income goes to fiscal output, so rent eventually exceeds expenditures.
The State of Economic Analysis in Water Resources Planning
Authors: Sander William
Published: July 2006

Abstract. The use of benefit‐cost analysis in federal water resources planning is examined. In addition, its role in the decision‐making process is assessed. An argument is made that its use might be more effective if government planners at the sub national level were better trained in economics. The costs of such investments in the quality of water resource planners are shown to be inconsequential with respect to the costs of inefficient projects. In addition, it is argued that investments in high quality analysts at the Washington, D.C.‐ level may be of less consequence because of the decentralized nature of the decision‐making process.
Eucken's ‘Social Market Economy’ and Its Test in Post‐War West Germany
Authors: Karsten Siegfried G.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Walter Eucken's paradigm of a “social market economy” and “Ordnung” provides a framework for a functional free‐market mechanism, which not only accommodates development and change, but which also assures human dignity and freedom, as cornerstones of the Kantian moral universe. Eucken places special emphasis on the integration of economics with “order” and “Justice,” in a synthesis of negative liberty and positive freedom and of Rawls' and Nozick's theories of justice. Adam Smith's laissez faire economy does not assure a competitive economy, he holds, and will evolve into monopolistic practices, interventionism, and distortions of price relationships; but “structural” and “regulating” principles will facilitate a functionally competitive economy with a compatible social policy, characterized by a flexible price mechanism and stable policies. This “social market economy” would provide goods and services efficiently and also eliminate poverty and the maldistribution of income and resources.
From Antagonistic to Cooperative Federalism on Water Resources Development
Authors: Hrezo Margaret S. , Hrezo William E.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. A major reason for the antagonism among federal, state, and local water resources planners may be their lack of understanding of the policymaking process. Water resources policies not only distribute social, economic, and physical benefits, they also have redistributive, regulatory, and social effects. The federal government is not capable of leadership in all four policy areas. Neither, however, are localities or the states. Planners, therefore, need to develop a viable mix of policy responsibilities so that each level has primary authority over the type of policy it is best suited to develop and implement. Analysis of the capacities of each level of government indicates that the federal government should provide regulatory objectives through such legislation as the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act, and provide support for state redistributive efforts through a restructuring of water resources grants‐in‐aid to reward states that improve their policy planning capabilities. The states' most appropriate role is development of a planning process. Social policy is the most appropriate sphere of local action.
Henry George and ‘Rerum Novarum’
Authors: Nuesse C. Joseph
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Students of the life and thought of Henry George have accepted too readily his own opinion, expressed in the Open Letter that he addressed to Pope Leo XIII in 1891, that the Pope's epoch making encyclical Rerum novarum was aimed at Georgism The disposition of the Open Letter in Vatican circles remains obscure, perhaps because the Holy Office had so recently decided that George's works were deserving of condemnation. But there is documentary support for only an allusion to George's views on property in the encyclical. Nor can the reinstatement of Father Edward McGlynn and the reappraisal of George that it signaled be attributed to the Open Letter. George's views may have had significant indirect influence, however, through (1) national land reform movements insofar as they affected the course of Catholic social thought, and (2) the discussion of Georgism as a form of socialism. These possibilities need to be investigated.
How Much Revenue Would a Full Land Value Tax Yield?In the United States in 1981, Census and Federal Reserve Data Indicate It Would Nearly Equal All Taxes
Authors: Cord Steven
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Most urban economists and particularly specialists in urban public finance consider the land value tax, because of its economic effects and its influence toward rational development, the tax of choice. But could it replace, in whole or in large part, taxes which now burden labor and capital and distort efficient allocation of resources? How important would a full land rent tax's yield be? The U.S. Bureau of the Census provides data which, adjusted for errors and omissions, indicates that the annual land rent for 1981 was $721 billion. Federal Reserve Board data, similarly adjusted, indicates annual land rent for that year was $590.38 billion Hence we may say that a full land rent tax would yield something around $658 billion in 1981, or 28 percent of the 1981 national income. This is nearly two thirds of all taxes levied by all levels of government in 1981, and, with user charges and similar fees continued, it is probably equal or nearly equal to burdensome taxes.
On Perennial Re‐examination of the U.S. Constitution
Authors: Forkosch Morris D.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. The United States Constitution is still shrouded in myths, clothed in broad terms and garbed with ambiguities. These require constant reinterpretation. If a continuing constitutional convention is thus endemic to the American political system, then is it, as Jefferson said, “a mere thing of wax in the hands of the judiciary”? Justice Jackson wrote that “we are infallible only because we are final,” but it is a maxim of American politics that the Court follows the election returns. In the last analysis, there is a higher court in a republican democracy, the Court of Public Opinion (of which scholars and publicists are the officers) which achieves revision by periodic reinterpretation and re‐examination.
Research on Wife/Mother Role Strain in Dual Career Families
Authors: Stanfield Jacqueline, B.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Concurrently with the rising trend in the number of dual career families, the problem of role strain in such families has arisen. In a recent series of scholarly studies (herewith subjected to critical analysis), time management, division of household labor, child care, and perceived guilt have been identified as likely determinants of wife/mother role strain for career women. Prior to 1980, most of the role strain studies have been of the exploratory, case study type. This does not permit generalizing, so a theory of role strain in such situations is still lacking. But those studies have provided useful hypotheses and insight into the limitations of available typology, thus setting the stage for quantitative studies and for the empirical research needed for a detailed understanding of the problems such strain creates and of the solution options available.
Reforming or Transforming the Federal Tax System: (A Review Essay)
Authors: Atkinson Glen W.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Several proposals to reform the federal income tax system are under active consideration. Professor Richard W. Lindholm has proposed instead that we abolish the individual and corporate income taxes and the estate and gift taxes. To replace the lost revenue he proposes a flat 15 per cent value added tax and a flat 2 per cent net wealth tax. He posits five goals for successful tax reform and discusses his proposed system in terms of them. He finds his system would be simpler and less disruptive of markets than even a simplified income tax structure.
The Effectiveness of Public Assistance Payments (1970–80) in Reducing Poverty Reconsidered
Authors: Dellaportas George
Published: July 2006

Abstract. The effectiveness of public assistance in reducing poverty in the U.S.A. is re‐examined by estimating the extent of public assistance among all families and of families officially defined in poverty. Also studied is the extent of public assistance among families not defined as in poverty. The findings are further analyzed for their changes during the decade 1970–80. It is found that errors of commission (assisting families not in poverty) and of omission (not assisting families in poverty) were quite widespread in 1980, although significantly reduced from their high prevalence in 1970.
Rent Paying Ability and Racial Settlement Patterns
Authors: Johnson Gary T.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Based on the belief that the major remaining hurdle to integration is economic, the proposition has frequently been advanced that if minority households could afford decent housing outside their current communities, many would move from their ghettoes into society at large. Evidence from two housing allowance demonstration projects and the recently completed Experimental Housing Allowance Program raises doubts as to the validity of this contention. While recipients of housing allowances frequently moved to better neighborhoods, only rarely were they able to break free of traditional settlement patterns. Findings suggest that while it may be necessary to increase the rent paying abilities of low‐income minority households as a precondition of integration, that segregation is not likely to be eliminated until the social, psychological, and remaining legal issues associated with it are addressed as well.
Mineral Taxation, Mineral Revenues and Mine Investment in Zambia, 1964–83
Authors: O'Faircheallaigh Ciaran
Published: July 2006

Abstract. The relationship between mineral taxation, mineral revenues, and investment in existing and new mine capacity in Zambia during 1964–83 is examined. By the mid‐1970s the Zambian copper industry was incapable of producing investible surpluses which could be appropriated by government partly because of unfavorable movements in real market prices for mining inputs and mineral output, partly because the mineral taxation systems applied since 1964 had deterred mine investment. This situation can only be remedied by changing the cost structure of Zambia's copper production, requiring major investments in modernization of existing, and development of new, mines. A tax system is suggested which offers a workable compromise between the need to obtain revenues for development and to ensure continued investment in mining.
The Geopolitics of the Antarctic
Authors: Roucek Joseph S.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. After space, the Antarctic Continent of more than 5 million square miles surrounding the South Pole is humanity's last relatively unexplored frontier Its land appears only where the 15,000 foot peaks of giant mountain ranges break through the ice. The most isolated of the world's seven continents, it was discovered by whalers but was explored only in the present centur. Successive explorations and finally establishment of research stations by 12 nations led to conflicting territorial claims. In 1959, 12 nations, including the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., (joined later by 8 others), concluded a treaty suspending claims, banning military activity and opening up the continent for free use for scientific work. The danger of a clash between socialist as well as capitalist imperialism was illustrated by the Falkland Island War of 1982 when Argentina invaded the dependency and was overwhelmed and expelled by Great Britain. Mutual commercial interests, however, limited military action.
Annexation: An Economic Analysis
Authors: Breen Eleanor , Costa FrankJ. , Hendon William S.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Cost/revenue analysis is used to determine the economic feasibility for annexing various types of land uses into a municipality. Operating costs for municipal services within existing municipal boundaries are apportioned to land uses according to the percent of the service utilized by each. Capital expenditures Site averaged over the expected life of the capital facility Sind then allocated to land uses in the same proportional manner as operating expenditures. Tax yields by land use type are estimated by allocating property taxes and income taxes to land uses which generate them. For example, income taxes are allocated to the commercial and industrial land uses where the employment resulting in tax yields is found. Tax yields are then compared by land use through use of an areal average of one acre. Estimates of revenue to be produced through annexation would result from comparing tax yields with service costs using the same acre average. Thus a city is in a better position to make a decision about the economic merits of specific annexation proposals.
Criteria for Justice
Authors: Mooney Christopher P.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Six different but common criteria for describing the meaning of distributive justice are examined. The six are (1) to each the same thing; (2) to each according to his or her merit or achievement; (3) to each according to his or her work or contribution; (4) to each according to his or her need or requirements; (5) to each according to his or her status or position; and (6) to each according to his or her contract or agreements. An attempt is made to show how these six can be viewed compatibly and how all support the right of equal access to land and the duty to pay to the community which created it the full economic rent on the site.
An Examination into the Relevance of the Median Voter Model: Empirical Evidence Offers Support for the Model and Certain Uses
Authors: Mathis Edward J. , Zech Charles E.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. This study analyzes some criticisms of the empirical use of the median voter model. In an attempt to evaluate these criticisms, a local school expenditure model is constructed which incorporates various income measures and various measures of tax price. Results indicate that median income outperforms other income measures. This empirical evidence offers support for the median voter model and its use in empirical work. The median tax price measure proved not to be of statistical significance. It should not be used without independent validation. Moreover, it does not outperform other tax price measures, in this test, at least. Further research is needed to explain this seeming anomaly.
Predictability and Reflexivity
Authors: Grunberg Emile
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Reflexive predictions are self‐defeating or self‐fulfilling. However, it was shown that in most cases of self defeating public predictions of social events conceptually at least one correct prediction exists. Unfortunately the term “reflexive prediction” is applied in the literature to quite distinct phenomena. A. Grünbaum, moreover, argued that reflexive prediction occurs also in the natural sciences using as example the fire‐control system which “obeys only natural laws.” The purpose of this paper is two fold: first, it clarifies the terminological confusion. Second, it argues that every man‐made tool (fire‐control systems are tools) obeys natural laws and so does the person. The question of a person's higher functions, such as expectation and decision is only acknowledged. The conclusions are (1) that there is a fundamental difference between reaction to public (predictive) utterances and reaction to discriminatory behavior based on private ptediciion. (2) The reflexivity of public prediction is a phenomenon characteristic of the social sciences. at least as long as these disciplines are set apart from the natural sciences.
Henry George and the Institution of Private Property in Land: A Property Rights Approach
Authors: Buurman Gary B.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Conflicting statements concerning whether the implementation of Henry George's single tax proposal would destroy the institution of private property in land have appeared in the literatures of economics and other disciplines. A number of writers have implied that the taxation of Ricardian rent is equivalent to land nationalization. In the main, followers of George have denied that the single tax would abolish private property in land. Their claim is based on the fact that land titles would remain in private hands under the single tax. Since the whole question of private property is beset with ideological difficulties, a property rights approach is applied to this issue in an attempt to resolve the controversy. The conclusions are that the actual implementation of George's system would not destroy private property in land and that it is incorrect to equate the single tax with land nationalization.
Long‐term Unemployment in the Canadian Labor Market
Authors: Robertson Matthew
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Examination of the distribution of long‐term unemployment in the Canadian labor market employing longitudinal administrative unemployment insurance data for the 1975–79 period indicates that over relatively long time periods, unemployment tends to be concentrated among those who have multiple unemployment episodes over time. By implication, high unemployment spell frequencies indicate a high propensity for re‐employment. A great deal of long‐term unemployment is found in lower skilled occupations and in seasonal occupations and industries. Youth and adult women comprise a proportion of long‐term unemployed roughly commensurate with their share of the labor force.
Veblen and the Political Economy of Technocracy: The Herald of Technological Revolution Developed an Ideology of ‘Scientific’ Collectivism
Authors: Stabile Don R.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. In the early 1900s, engineers the United States began developing their own analysis of the economy. Thorstein Veblen, in The Engineers and the Price System, gave a systematic treatment of that analysis. But Veblen's approach to political economy was broader than that of the engineers. His understanding of social change was based on a two‐part research program: First, recognize the institutional elements of social stability; then identify an operative force with technological values that could foster change. When applied to the U.S. of his day, this research program resulted in Veblen's seeing a conflict between pecuniary and industrial values. Veblen believed that the triumph of industrial values was crucial for making society compatible with mass‐production technology. These values were held to by both engineers and industrial workers. Veblen's earlier works emphasized workers as being agents for social change; later he shifted his focus to engineers. In both cases he reacted to the social activism of each group.
Poverty and Mass Unemployment in Mineralrich Botswana
Authors: Curry Robert L.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. The economic plight of Botswana's poor has worsened as a direct consequence of the mining sector's success. Their condition results from the process by which economic expansion and modernization has taken place. It has created an economic elite composed of a government bureaucracy and an emerging military “salariat,” and a small group of corporation officials and managers. The elite have joined white farming families as the country's largerscale land and cattle owners, purchasing land and cattle from savings out of relatively high salaries in the mining and public sectors. They have drilled boreholes for water and mechanized their farms and ranches. In effect, the elite have enjoyed access to the revenue from mining; their wealth is a product of that sector's growth, and the consequence is the emergence of a dual Botswana. One is rich, the other is poor, and the emerging clash between rich and poor could destabilize and threaten an African success story.
Henry George's Impact at Home and Abroad: He Won the Workers of Marx's Adopted Country But Through Leninism Marxism Has Won Half the World
Authors: Bonaparte T. H.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Henry George, the American economist and social philosopher, considered it an anomoly that, under modern industrial conditions, progress and poverty should march together. He recognized that the juxtaposition of wealth and want was a worldwide phenomenon and traced its cause to monopoly, particularly the monopoly of land and natural resources. Realizing that current taxes on consumption and production were disincentives to capital and labor, he proposed that governments tax the only true surplus, economic rent, through land value taxation. This would enable the people to reassert their common title to the land—the earth. His message was accorded a more favorable reception abroad than at home. Karl Marx wrote Das Kapital in England but it was George, not Marx, who appealed to the British workers. Yet it was Marxism that swept half the world into State socialism, conquering by political power and bayonet‐Leninism while George's followers pursued the democratic approach of public education.
Disproportionate Black and Hispanic Unemployment in U.S. Metropolitan Areas: The Roles of Racial Inequality, Segregation and Discrimination in Male Joblessness
Authors: Farley Johne E.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Three common hypotheses about disproportionate Black and Hispanic unemployment among metropolitan males are tested, using data from the 1980 Population and the 1977 Economic Censuses. It is found that Black and Hispanic male unemployment is higher relative to that of Whites where jobs are most suburbanized and the minority population least so. This supports the view that segregation which separates minorities from job location elevates minority unemployment. It is also found that relative levels of Black, but not Hispanic, unemployment correlate positively to the minority percentage in metropolitan populations. This is consistent with the view that potential White gains from discrimination are greater where the Black (but not Hispanic) population is larger. Finally, both Blacks and Hispanics experience more disproportionate unemployment where their percentage of high school graduates is low relative to Whites, though this is less true for areas with larger Black populations. This suggests that job skill differentials also play some role in disproportionate minority unemployment.
The Irish Sea Fisheries: Development and Curtailment of a Renewable Resource Industry
Authors: Gillmor Desmond A.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. The volume of the sea fish catch in the Republic of Ireland increased by 16 times in the period 1950‐82. Influences contributing to development included active promotion by a State agency, government funding, fleet expansion, growth in the labor force, establishment of processing, and development of domestic and export markets.Fish landings became more concentrated in the major ports and along the less developed west coast. Fishery expansion is now curtailed by resource problems. These are partly the result of pressures exerted by foreign fleets, now within the context of the European Economic Community (EEC). Internal conflicts have arisen through competition between Irish fishermen for scarcer resources. The major needs in this new phase of the industry are for restructuring of the fleet, exploitation of new stocks, resource conservation, development of mariculture, more advanced processing and marketing, and comprehensive policy formulation.
Mineral Taxation in Jamaica: An Oligopoly Confronts Taxes on Resource Rents — and Prevails
Authors: Dore M. H. I.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. The reallocative effects on bauxite production in Jamaica following the imposition of an ad valorem tax in 1974 are considered. The international aluminum industry, being both vertically and horizontally integrated, evolved a successful strategy of time‐phasing bauxite production capacity worldwide. The non‐neutral tax not only made Jamaican bauxite uncompetitive with the output of other producers but also eroded the cost differential between bauxite and alternative sources of aluminum ore. The study claims that the consequences of the tax have been disastrous, and it argues that the ad valorem tax on the recovered ore must be replaced by some form of a profits‐based tax.
Henry George and British Labor Politics
Authors: Jones Peter d'A.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Henry George, the American social reformer and Single Taxadvocate, made six visits to Britain in the last quarter of the 19th century, a period crucial in British labor politics. George became locked in contest for the minds and hearts of British working men and women, as well as all classes, with the advocates of Christian and moderate socialism and with Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, the chief advocates of State socialism through political revolution. Though it was Marx's adopted country, George won out for a time, and it was his program for competitive capitalism, with socialization limited to industries unsuited for market discipline, which influenced development of a mixed economy. New research complementing E. P. Lawrence's traces George's decisive impact on the founders of the British labor parties, some leaders of which almost achieved George's fiscal program. But it was the Liberals who later fought for his full program.
Equity, Price Elasticity, and Household Income Under Increasing Block Rates for Water
Authors: Agthe Donald E. , Billings R. Bruce
Published: July 2006

Abstract. For an examination of the relationships between household income levels and residential water use, individual household survey data from Tucson, Arizona the combined with monthly water use data for these same households. The objectives were to examine individual response to the existing block rate pricing structure and to provide policy conclusions on potential improvements in this rate structure. A simultaneous equation model of demand is estimated for households within each income group to determine the price elasticity of demand for each income group. The demand models show that under the existing increasing block rate pricing schedules, higher income households not only use more water, but have lower elasticities of demand. Thus a uniform proportional rate increase will cause a larger percentage drop in water use among low income households than among high income households. Given the assumption of declining marginal utility of water use, this result leads to a policy recommendation for substantially steeper block rates to improve interpersonal equity in water pricing.
Henry George on Chattel and Wage Slavery: The American Social Philosopher Condemned Both Forms as Immoral, Irrational Denials of Equality
Authors: Steele E. Springs
Published: July 2006

Abstract. In the writings of Henry George two types of slavery are mentioned: chattel (human) and industrial (economic), or wage slavery. Greater attention is paid to the latter than to the former. In fact, chattel slavery was typically referred to only as an example or analogy in the analysis of issues that were of more fundamental concern to George: wealth, property, land, etc. Nonetheless it is possible to construct from these references a remarkably comprehensive critique of human servitude on three levels: practical, economic, and philosphicotheological. Practically, chattel slavery is inefficient and a hindrance to technological discovery and production. Economically, it does not increase the wealth of the political economy, the “Greater Leviathan.” Philosophico‐theologically, it denies the natural equality of human beings, and is based on erroneous assumptions concerning the rightful basis and nature of property. Economic (industrial) or wage slavery is worse, however. Chattel slavery is a dead or dying institution as George writes, whereas the more cruel and relentless industrial servitude is alive and growing.
Henry George and His Philosophy: He Sought Equality of Opportunity to Use the Earth's Resources as Well as the End of Land Monopoly
Authors: Johannsen Oscar B.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. The George scholars today appear to be interesting the academic community in re‐evaluating Henry George and his ideas. George, the 19th century American economist and social philosopher, dedicated himself to ending poverty by giving everyone equal access to the earth and its resources. He believed that land monopoly could be ended by taking the economic rent of all land and natural resources to meet the costs of government in lieu of taxes on labor and capital. George's writings revived interest in the ethos of the early settlers a time when sight was being lost of Pioneer America's contribution to the world's march toward freedom.
The Practical Domain of Marketing: The Notion of a‘Free’Enterprise Market Economy as a Guise for Institutionalized Marketing Power
Authors: Benton Raymond
Published: July 2006

Abstract. The development of certain key concepts in marketing is explained from an anthropological frame of reference. Marketing thought, it is argued, emerged as a conceptual domain to fill the gap left by the economists' abandonment of the real world. But it had to do so in such a way that a practical description of the emerging real world was presented as consistent with the economists’account of the atomistic market economy. Certain key concepts in marketing evolved or were invented to suggest that consistency and functioned as bridges over which a sense of profound meaning and purpose would transfer from economic theory to marketing thought. These same marketing concepts function as covers for the power that marketing institutions have come to exercise and thereby serve not the understanding or improvement of the economic system but the goals of those who have power in the system.
Some Determinants of Property Crime: Economic Factors Influence Criminal Behavior But Cannot Completely Explain the Syndrome
Authors: Howsen Roy M. , Jarrell Stephen B.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. An empirical analysis of the property crimes, robbery, burglary and larceny, is presented for all 120 counties in Kentucky. While this analysis is based on an economic model of crime, certain sociological and legal variables are included as well in the system of equations. Overall, the empirical results support prior studies’findings with the exception that a quadratic relationship is found to exist between urbanization and each of the property crimes. Furthermore, neither the economic nor the non economic influences measured appear more important for affecting crime rates. Specifically, results indicate that the level of poverty, the degree of tourism, the presence of police, the unemployment rate and the apprehension rate all affect property crimes. In contrast, the length of sentence, the degree of industrialization, the level of public assistance payments and the proportion of youth in the county have no affect on property crime rates in these areas.
Botswana's Macroeconomic Management of Its Mineral‐Based Growth: It Used Mining Revenues for Development and Services but Must Now Broaden the Beneficiaries
Authors: Curry Robert L.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. The economic performance and the political history of Botswana during 1974‐84 contrasted significantly with the experience of virtually every other African country. The South African republic, immediately north of the Republic of South Africa, achieved steady real economic growth with improved social services and provision for its people's basic needs. This was achieved in spite of world recession and drought because its mineral wealth Was reserved for the people and mining companies had to pay for the privilege of extracting that wealth through a tax program limited to appropriating its surplus, while assuring the investors and entrepreneurs an adequate long‐term return on capital and enterprise. But sound macroeconomic policies failed to provide even reasonably equitable benefits for the majority of the people. Sound micropolicies are needed to widen access to employment and earned income and to asset accumulation.
Some Surviving Elements in the Work of Henry George
Authors: Kamerschen David R.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. While not appreciated by many professional economists during his lifetime despite his appeal to the general public, Henry George (1839‐1897) was a self‐taught economist whose best work is still surviving. His work is still applauded by economists in their theoretical work especially in the area of site value taxation and rentseeking. However, perhaps the most enduring tribute to the genius of Georgism is in the current application of land value taxation and gradation in several countries around the world including the United States.
The Rocky Road to Privatization
Authors: Fitch Lyle C.
Published: July 2006

Abstract. Three main types of privatization are found in the United States: (1) lower proportion of Gross National Product preempted by the public sector, leaving correspondingly more for the private sector, (2) transferring present government enterprises to private organizations; and (3) contracting out the production and delivery of services financed by public funds. Most discussions of “contracting out,” which come from the “public choice” school of economics and public administration, mainly emphasize theoretical economic advantages. They also suppose that the practice can eradicate political machinations. In contrast, this evaluation takes into account the practices’intensely political environment. Many of the advantages attributed to contracting out often are not realized. The practice in many cases can save money. But successes are likely to be achieved only with projects meeting certain narrow specifications.
An Incomes Policy for the Professions: the Dutch Experience
Authors: van der Hoek M. Peter
Published: July 2006

Abstract. In 1951 the United States began moving toward an incomes policy, an attempt to end postwar wage and price inflation by linking changes in these prices to gains in productivity. Other countries later followed suit; some countries had already adopted wage and price control policies. The Netherlands moved toward an incomes policy immediately after World War II. Initially, the Dutch program involved wages only, but in the 1970s it became an accepted principle that private professional income should be comparable with the salaries of government officials and civil servants with comparable training and responsibilities. In the Netherlands (as in the United States and, before medicine was socialized, the United Kingdom) health professionals operate on a fee‐for service basis and their incomes escalated as a result of both inflation and monopoly power. So they were subjected to the incomes policy. The policy's effectiveness in curbing income escalation cannot be determined with certainty—reliable data are lacking. However, the evidence indicates that the policy failed to achieve its original purpose.