ALBERT

Notes: Here the authors investigate the impact of new technology on employment at country, industry and firm level using evidence from a study of the Turkish chemical and engineering industries. They conclude by attempting to outline policy considerations related to the long term negative impact of technology on employment in developing countries.

Notes: The research reported in this article, co-ordinated by the WZB Institute of Berlin, examines organisational, technological and human resource practices that enhance quality in product development by improving communication and cooperation between the actors. In this context it was found that, although the importance of HR policies was recognised, implementation remained low.

Notes: Through an examination of twenty Japanese owned manufacturing plants in China, this article seeks to question the usefulness of identifying Japanese competitive success as being associated with specific Japanese production management techniques. Rather Japanese plants adopt, seemingly profitably, various and differentiated production methods, depending on local and parent company circumstances.

Notes: Books reviewed: New Workspace, New Culture: Office design as a catalyst for change, Peter Bain Workplaces of the Future, Alistair Mutch Technology, Organization, and Competitiveness: Perspectives on Industrial and Corporate Change, David R. Charles Managing Like a Man: Women and Men in Corporate Management, Jeff Hyman Exploring Expertise: Issues and Perspectives, Robin Fincham The Sociology of Industrial Injury, John Eldridge

Notes: A review of studies from different European countries reveals that research into the new role of middle management in new production systems is quite inconsistent. Referring to the example of the German ‘Industriemeister’ (master craftsman) it will be shown that these inconsistencies are due to different models of the future role of middle management.

Notes: This article argues that accounts of occupational change are flawed by lack of attention to the relationship between structure and agency. It uses the example of welding to critique, in particular, the work of Casey and Zuboff. Welding is an example of a manual craft occupation that, whilst subject to some change, has not been as dramatically affected by information technology as some analysts might suggest. In this it may have parallels with other occupations and this suggests not only further areas for research but also considerations about theoretical approaches. In particular, attention is drawn to the importance of the temporal dimension in social analysis.

Notes: In contrast to optimistic interpretations of contemporary work reorganisation, the example of computerised work monitoring in US and Australian grocery warehousing highlights a far more negative picture of work intensification, job stress and low trust relations. Despite significant variation in trade union response, the article argues such examples reinforce the need for strong and independent trade union regulation to limit the worst excesses of workplace rationalisation.

Notes: Two large scale IS projects are examined using the differentiators of size, technology and structure. They serve to explain the very different outcomes of the Taurus project and Crest equity settlement system and may therefore provide a basis for understanding other IT applications development projects within the financial services sector.

Notes: Innovative and technology-based new and small firms have been the focus of rapid growth expectations, but the empirical evidence shows modest growth is the norm amongst such firms. This article provides an interpretation of the development of these firms which is intended to highlight some of the diversity which exists within this population of firms.

Notes: Considerable attention has been paid in recent years to the activity of innovation or technology centres and to their role in nurturing small firms. There is relatively little systematic evidence on the survival and performance of such firms, either during or after their tenancy of these centres. This article reports the preliminary findings of a survey of over fifty companies which ‘graduated’ from St John’s Innovation Centre in Cambridge over the first eight years of its existence.

Notes: This article presents a case study of a kaizen in a UK diesel engine manufacturer. Kaizen is explained as an emergent strategy; its effective-ness in reducing costs is explained by its effects on the effort bargain and by the organisation of the work standardisation task. Kaizen–related changes, perceptions of the employees, and its effects of the competitive position of the firm are reviewed.

Notes: Labour process writers tend to view the use of non-discretionary job tasks in Japanese style manufacturing as a form of de-skilling. The authors argue that the limits of human accuracy and the statistical realities of sequential production make non-discretionary job tasks a necessary condition for high quality engineered products. Cultural and scale barriers to achieving this condition are identified and analysed.

Notes: Shaping Women's Work: Gender, Employment and Information Technology. J. Webster Information Space. A Framework for Learning in Organizations, Institutions and Culture. Max H. Boisot The Industrial Craftsworker: Skill, Managerial Strategies and Workplace Relations. Peter Cook Towards a Competent Workforce. Bob Mansfield and Lindsay Mitchell Restructuring Within a Labour Intensive Industry. I. M. Taplin and J. Winterton (eds) Employee Participation in Europe. Herman Knudsen Technology Strategy for Business. David Ford and Mike Saren

Notes: This article examines the labour implications of technology transfer and diffusion in American and Australian shipping. The authors argue that technology innovation and transfer has been inhibited in these two cases by a range of factors including public policy and trade union behaviour. The authors’ findings are related to general models of the impact of technology on labour.

Notes: The case study on which this article is based describes a two-and-a-half month long strike of Israeli academic staff members. During the strike, e-mail was used as the major means of communication between the strikers. Analysis of the e-mail messages demonstrates that e-mail served as a secret weapon, enabling the strikers to succeed in what was presumed to be a hopeless battle.

Notes: The advent of National Vocational Qualifications represents an important change in British Government policy from attempting to secure appropriate training inputs to a system driven by the aim of stimulating the attainment of learning outcomes assessed against national standards. This article presents a case study of the implications of this policy for intermediate skills in engineering, a major industry subject to rapid technological change.

Notes: This article examines the relationship between technology, entrepreneurial human capital and company performance in a sample of textile and clothing SMEs in Great Britain. General conclusions suggest that firms with a computer network are more likely to have a formal management team. Networked firms appear to be larger: smaller companies are making increasing use of computer networks.

Notes: This article examines two issues: first how Japanese companies recruit, train and utilise engineers in their UK transplants; secondly, how technology transfer between British and Japanese engineers is affected by career structures. It draws on questionnaire responses from 88 companies and interviews at a small number of sites.

Notes: From the 1980s, the paper and board industry in Britain, in response to the pressures of strong foreign competition, sought the fuller utilisation of new and existing technology through changing work practices. This particularly involved the extensive introduction of annualised hours arrangements with national bargaining arrangements playing a major role in their introduction.

Notes: Research that questions the general validity of flexible specialisation can be supplemented by an example that is, paradoxically, frequently used as a supporting example: ceramic tile production. This article examines some comparative evidence and concludes that support is illusory and all too often based on the same weak original data, while there are actually more robust indications of moves towards classical mass production.

Notes: Book Reviewed in this article:Expertise and Innovation: Information Technology Strategies in the Financial Services SectorEthics of Information ManagementAcquiring, Adapting and Developing Technologies: Lessons from the Japanese ExperienceTeleworking ExplainedTime Pioneers: Flexible Working Time and New LifestylesThe Future of Industrial RelationsEnterprise Without UnionsThe Electronic Eye: the rise of surveillance societyManaging Production—Engineering Change and StabilityBusiness Reengineering: The Survival GuideISO 9000—Quality Systems Handbook

Notes: This article argues that studies of the introduction of new technology have tended to ignore the contributions of pre-Braverman approaches. However, in some cases, they have implicitly rediscovered the findings of an older industrial sociology.

Notes: Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) for communication between different corporate computer systems was expected to transform relationships between firms. However, this detailed study of three sectors of the UK publishing industry—the book trade; the magazine and newspaper trade; and newsprint supply to newspapers—found that EDI developed in a slow and incremental manner. This calls into question the radical visions of proponents of business network redesign.

Notes: This article examines job knowledge and skill in clerical work drawing on five case studies from the area of credit management. The cognitive, social and ‘tacit’ skills necessary for clerical effectiveness in this sector are identified and examined. Feminist approaches to skills analysis are used to examine how and why this type of work is under-valued.

Notes: Utilising a typology based on the previous occupational background of owner-managers within technology-based organizations, this article analyses the previous management and technical experiences of a sample of technical entrepreneurs in the UK. Overall, the study concludes that management and technical experience will differ according to occupational background, which may have implications for support provided to small technology-based firms.

Notes: This article explores management's strategic decision making in relation to Total Quality Management (TQM). It demonstrates that management's strategies are fraught with politics and power relations, which influence the ‘choice’ of strategy and the way in which such strategies are ‘implemented’. Hence, management's strategic decision making may not be planned and rational, and their behaviour is often contradictory which may undermine TQM or render its outcomes uncertain and contestable.

Notes: This article examines the role which elite MNC employers play in the process of qualification inflation within the Irish Republic. While these employers do not contribute towards inflation across technical occupations the tendency to select the most qualified within individual occupations has led to the emergence of a ‘graduate barrier’ between technicians and engineers/scientists.

Notes: Book Reviewed in this article:Enriching Production: Perspectives on Volvo's Uddevalla Plant as an Alternative to Lean Production Ake Sandberg (Ed.)Breaking from Taylorism: Changing Forms of Work in the Automobile Industry Ulrich Jurgens, Thomas Malsch and Knuth Dohse Cambridge University Press

Notes: This article takes the view that BPR in the dominant form in which it is presently characterised, is a re-expression of industrial age classical administration. As such it is oblivious of organization as a political entity or as a set of ‘human resources' . What is needed is a new model of BPR for the information age.

Notes: Here the author examines continuities and tensions between the discourses of Business Process Re-engineering and Human Resource Management. Addressing their respective assumptions and claims, especially with regard to the organization of ‘human resources', critical attention is focused upon their shared advocacy of employee empowerment and strong leadership from senior managers.

Notes: This article examines the hype surrounding BPR from a historical, theoretical and empirical perspective. It delineates three ways in which politics are critical to understanding BPR and uses findings on BPR practice, including from case study work and a 1994/5 UK survey conducted by the authors, to locate and explain BPR's appeal and also the less radical outcomes of BPR practice.

Notes: Capitalism is currently undergoing an epochal change. The associated corporate change is sticky for reasons of institutional inertia. Business process re-engineering is a corporate response which should be understood in technical, social and political terms. Core elements of BPR are identified, illustrated, and critiqued, partly through a BPR case researched by the authors.

Notes: This article examines the emergence of BPR from the literature on the strategic use of IT. Two case studies of BPR are then presented. Analysis of this material suggests that there is a tension between strategic re-orientation and cost-saving in many BPR projects which is difficult to resolve. This tension is explored further using a historical analysis of ‘frameworks' of computing.

Notes: This article explores the relevance of ideas emerging from business process re-engineering (BPR) for the information systems profession. The marginal role of this profession in conceiving and leading organizational change is examined. Against this background, current interest in BPR is seen as reasserting the challenge of incorporating an active engagement with organizational design into professional practices.

Notes: This article looks at the experiences, warts and all of BPR at The Post Office. In so doing it also reflects upon the nature of good practice.

Notes: Here the author examines the extent of BPR practice across UK government, reaching conclusions about overcoming impediments which arise in organizational change processes.

Notes: The world economy is currently stuck in a ‘long wave’ downswing, due largely to the mismatch of a new technological 'style’ with established institutions. The article sketches the effects on the level and pattern of employment and discusses the reforms which will be needed to escape from the downswing.

Notes: Here the authors examine the unions' experience of building-related sickness among their members and argue that we can no longer treat the built working environment as a neutral factor when analysing the labour process.

Notes: Book reviews in this article:Tools for Change and Progress: A Socio-Technical Approach to Business Process Re-engineering Enid Mumfordm, Geert Jan BeekmanReengineering the Corporation: A Manifesto for Business Revolution Michael Hammer and James ChampyThe Essence of Business Process Re-Engineering Joe Peppard, Philip RowlandSoftware Assistance for Business Re-Engineering K Spurr, P Layzell, N Richards (Eds.)Re-Engineering the Networked Enterprise Y Jayachandra with Raul Medina-More Gita J Melkote Fernando FloresReengineering Information Technology: Success Through Empowerment Stephen, Baxter, David LisburnManagers Divided: Organisation Politics and Information Technology Management David Knights, Fergus MurrayBusiness Process Reengineering: Breakpoint Strategies for Market Dominance Henry J. Johansson, Patrick McHugh, A. John Pendlebury & William A. Wheeler IIIBeyond Business Process Reengineering: Towards the Holonic Enterprise Patrick McHugh, Giorgio Merli & William A. Wheeler III

Notes: This article examines the introduction of centralized processing. It looks at the multiple objectives underlying the initiative and how these were managed in implementation. Drawing on empirical data gathered at three similar sites a comparative analysis of the outcomes of centralization is presented and the variances are explained.

Notes: There are conflicting tendencies among recent developments in bargaining and participation at the workplace level in Europe. While there is an emphasis on decentralisation of bargaining structures in many countries, there is considerable variance. Similarly, there is a diversity of approaches to both direct and indirect forms of participation. Despite attempts by the European Community to integrate policies on these matters among member countries, external influences such as the globalisation of economies and technologies are leading to diverse outcomes.

Notes: Book reviews in this article:The Volvo Experience: alternatives to lean production in the Swedish auto industry Christian BerggrenPrices, Quality and Trust Mari SakoTechnology and Innovation in the International Economy Charles Cooper, EditorHi-Tech For Industrial Development: Lessons from the Brazilian Experience in Electronics and Automation Hubert Schmitz Jose Cassiolato (eds)Development, Technology and Flexibility: Brazil Faces the Industrial Divide Joao Carlos Ferraz Howard Rush Ian MilesTelecommunications and Politics: the decentralised alternative Andrew DaviesTelecommunications Services: negotiating structural and technological change B. Bolton et al., EditorsIn Search of Management Tony J. WatsonOther publications received

Notes: This article identifies three models that imply different views of the ‘impact’ of the use of computer based information systems for managers' work. Using case study evidence it argues that the ‘impact’ is not a stable and predictable outcome but a non-linear ongoing process that changes and evolves over time.

Notes: Quick response behaviour is a necessity in the clothing industry. It was expected that the requirements for this would show a number of dysfunctions in the Taylorist production concept. However, it is concluded that the way in which clothing companies are attempting to reorganise their processes can be termed ‘intensification’: changes designed to increase productivity without substantial reorganisation of the Taylorist production concept.

Notes: This article investigates the influence of gendered occupational identities in the social construction of skill and technology in a retail company introducing an IT system. It focusses on female shop floor supervisors and considers the impact that ‘femininity’ had on definitions of skill and role during a period of change.

Notes: This article argues that the study of total quality management (TQM) failure is a valuable vehicle to extend our knowledge of strategic change management. The article reviews the literature on TQM and, after reporting the findings from an in-depth case study concludes by discussing the meaning of ‘failure’ and the lessons for managing strategic change that can be learnt from the study of TQM decline.

Notes: Five principal technology domains are identified: 1: Technlogies that change the concept of time. 2: Technologies that change the flow of materials. 3: Technologies that change the geographical mobility. 4: Technologies that enhance planning, and 5: Technologies that shift processes to and from suppliers. All occupational groups in the restaurant sector are likely to be affected. Most technologies are found to enhance the deskilling of the staff, leaving empowerment opportunities for management levels only.

Notes: Keith Grint and Steve Woolgar, The Machine at Work: Technology, Work and OrganisationHarry C Katz, Telecommunications – Restructuring Work and Employment Relations WorldwideTheo Nichols, The Sociology of Industrial InjuryAxel van den Berg, Bengt Furaker, Leif Johansson, Labour Market Regimes and Patterns of Flexibility: a Sweden-Canada Comparison

Notes: This article focuses on the relationship between the introduction of new management techniques (NMTs), trade union responses and employee attitudes in the automotive industry in the UK. In contrast to a prevailing pessimistic prognosis for the survival of traditional industrial relations in the ‘new management’ environment, unions remain as an independent and dissenting force. Paradoxically, one of the significant features driving union recovery has been the opportunities presented by the very nature of NMTs themselves which, among other things, have opened the possibility for increased local autonomy.

Notes: Employee participation and involvement in the introduction of change provide specific challenges for the non-union firm. This article provides evidence from a case study of a pharmaceutical salesforce and argues that the lack of employee ‘voice’ in the introduction of technical change had far-reaching consequences for employee satisfaction and the performance of the company.

Notes: This article investigates the practicalities of implementing business process re-engineering (BPR) through two case studies, DefCo and ServiCo in the public sector. It demonstrates the destructive and insidious nature of BPR, and deconstructs the myth that BPR represents a discontinuity in management thinking.

Notes: Rather than providing evidence of business process re-engineering (BPR) as another example of cultural change rhetoric, this case study shows BPR as a substantive initiative that has had a considerable impact on health care professionals. A hybrid of differing bureaucratic professions allows for a diversity specific to the health service. The study highlights a number of controversial issues unique to health care professionals, particularly in the areas of job redesign, multiskilling and empowerment.

Notes: Keith Grint and Steve Woolgarr, The Machine at Work: Technology, Work and OrganizationPaul Stewart (ed), Beyond Japanese Management: The End of Modern Times?R. Katz (ed), The Human Side of Managing Technological InnovationD. Archibugi and J. Michie (eds), Technology, Globalisation and Economic PerformanceP. Bloomfield, R. Coombs, D. Knights and D. Littler (eds), Information Technology and Organisations: Strategies, Network and Integration Bryn Jones, Forcing the Factory of the Future

Notes: The working environment of the modern aircraft and the conditions in which airline cabin crews operate are issues which have been largely ignored in the industrial relations literature. This article considers recent trends in airline industrial relations and argues that the aircraft cabin is host to a number of hazards which pose serious threats to the health and safety of those who work in it.

Notes: Here the author examines change to work organisation in a large domestic appliance factory over a twenty-five year period. After work study engineers attempted to improve the efficiency of assembly workers, the company more recently, has encouraged shopfloor workers to analyse their own activities utilising techniques associated with TQM.

Notes: This article examines the impact of CAD/CAM on the UK clothing industry. It questions the extent to which computerisation has led to a greater choice over production strategy and argues that upskilling has not occurred.

Notes: To many observers, the introduction of electronic mail into a business organisation is an undramatic affair which is likely to have little impact beyond that on intra-organisational communication. Using insights from actor-network theory, this article demonstrates the more insidious and far-reaching impact of electronic mail on organisational power relations, knowledge and employee behaviour.

Notes: This article is part of a case study history, from the British auto-components industry involving a changing workplace regime from the late 1970s through to the 1990s. Employing the concepts of ‘dual commitment’ and ‘incorporation’ we explore, partly through the voices of participants, the process of involvement in that regime. We consider the implications for how trade unions might respond to policies on ‘jointism’, and for management vis-a-vis the choices on union involvement or anti union strategies.

Notes: There has been a growing literature which, from a social science perspective, seeks to critically assess the use of business process re-engineering (BPR) in effecting radical organisational change. Using a case study of the Contributions Agency, this article reports on the problems of using BPR in a public sector organisation, and discusses the findings in relation to the current critique of BPR.

Notes: This article provides a critical analysis of the information age literature, explores its attractions for management and assesses evidence of the impact of the information age on the UK. It finds that material changes to work organisations and employment relationships frequently contrast with the optimistic predictions contained in much of the writing.

Notes: Sako, M. and Sato, H. (eds), Japanese Labour and Management in Transition: Diversity, Flexibility and ParticipationFerguson, Charles and McKillip, Donal, The Strategic Development of Credit UnionsCannell, W. and Dankebaar, B. (eds), Technology, Management and Public Policy in the European UnionRansome, P., The Work ParadigmRinehart, James; Huxley, Christopher and Robertson, David, Just Another Car Factory: lean production and its discountsDent, Mike, Professions, Information Technology and Management in Hospitals

Notes: The experiences of men working in a computer-mediated workplace in Ontario are contrasted with men employed in a mass production paper mill in Qu"bec in order to analyse the association between technological change and male subcultures. Both statistical and interview data were used in this study.

Notes: Clark, Jon, Managing Change and Innovation: People, Technology and StrategyCasey, Catherine, Work, Self and Society-After IndustrialismGrint, Keith, Gill, Rosalind, The Gender Technology Relation: Contemporary Theory and ResearchPhizacklea, A, Wolkowitz, C, Homeworking Women: Gender, Racism and Class at WorkHarding, R, Technology and Human Resources in their National Context: a study of strategic contrastsTaplin, I, M, Winterton, J, Restructuring Within a Labour Intensive IndustryLee, Eric, The Labour Movement and the Internet. The New Internationalism

Notes: Everyone is aware of the federal income tax. What many do not realize is that federal estate tax may have a bigger impact than the income tax. While the income tax decreases take-home pay, the estate tax threatens job creation, business growth, and family harmony. This article examines the impact of the federal estate taxes and reviews several studies which indicate that the estate tax has a deleterious impact on capital accumulation, business growth, job creation, and federal tax revenues.

Notes: Closely held businesses differ from their publicly held counterparts in the relative importance assigned to planning for estate taxes. When faced with the prospect of an estate taxes liability, owners of closely held businesses may alter their investment behavior. This essay presents a simple model of the investment decision in a closely held business. While finance theory prescribes that firms maximize their value through funding capital projects with positive net present values, this model suggests that the presence of estate taxes may induce the firm to reject projects which, if funded, would add value to the firm. Further, the propensity to pass on value-adding projects increases with both the estate tax rate and the age of the business owner.

Notes: This paper questions the effectiveness of economic development policies and programs which fail to differentiate family from non-family enterprises in the UK small and medium-sized firms sector. Published evidence is reviewed and findings from workshops and interviews with 10 Scottish family enterprises demonstrate that family enterprises differ, and in some economically significant ways, from non-family enterprises. It is suggested that the lack of provision for family enterprises hinders their business activity. The aim is to begin an argument for recognition of a “family business sector” in the UK in order to promote business activity in this economically significant group of firms, and to achieve a better payoff for governments from investment in economic development in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Notes: Family business studies have focused on succession because of the incidence of family business failure and the importance of family businesses within the US economy. This study furthers the understanding of family business failure by making the distinction between succession planning (the management task of transitioning leadership) and estate planning (the task of transitioning financial assets and managing federal estate tax obligations) and using this distinction to better understand family business discontinuance. This study of 749 heirs of failed family businesses demonstrates that inadequate estate planning is more often associated-with family business failure than is poor succession planning.

Notes: Although family-owned and managed firms are the predominant form of business organization in the world today, little systematic research exists on these companies. This paper builds upon insights found in the emerging literature on these enterprises and upon our own observations to provide a conceptual frame-work to better understand these complex organizations. We introduce the concept of the Bivalent Attributes–a unique, inherent feature of an organization that is the source of both advantages and disadvantages–to explain the dynamics of the family firm.

Notes: This paper is meant to answer the question whether the CMEA countries trade flows have been able to catch up with their trade potential. The gravity equations estimated over a panel of 14 years show that there is a room for an increase in trade, which could compensate for the huge regional trade losses. But, if one takes into account the higher than average transportation costs in East Europe, this potential increase may only he reached through the reduction of these transportation costs and through further liberalisation of regional trade flows. How costly has been the disintegration process? The computation of gross trade destruction (GTD) versus trade creation (TC) minus external trade diversion (ETD) in the framework of the Viner model reflects the decreasing costs of the CMEA break-up: a dramatic trade reorientation has taken place, and it is welfare improving.〈section xml:id="abs1-2"〉〈title type="main"〉ZUSAMMENFASSUNGDieser Artikel untersucht, ob der Aussenhandel der ehemaligen COMECON-Länder sein potentielles Niveau bereits erreicht hat. Ein Gravitltsmodel über einen Zeitraum von 14 Jahren zeigt, dass es noch ein Potential für zusätzlichen internationalen Handel giht, das den Zusammenbruch des regionalen Handels kompensieren könnte. Wenn jedoch die höheren Transportkosten in Mittel- und Osteuropa in Betracht gezogen werden, dürfte dieses Potential nur durch eine Reduzierung dieser Kosten und eine weitergehende Handelsliberalisierung ausgeschöpft werden können. Der Artikel heschäftigt sich ebenfalls mit den Kosten des Zusammenbruchs des COMECON-Handels. Die Berechnung der Bruttohandelszerstörung versus neu entstandenem Handel abzuglich der Handelsahlenkung im Modell von Viner zeigt, dass diese Kosten positiv und ahnehmend sind. Die starke Reorientierung des Aussenhandels hat eine erhöhte Wohlfahrt in der Region zur Folge.〈section xml:id="abs1-3"〉〈title type="main"〉RESUMECet article tente de répondre è la question de savoir si le commerce des pays ex-memhres du CAEM a rattrapé son niveau potentiel. L'équation de gravité estimée sur un panel de 14 ans montre qu'il existe un potentiel d'échanges qui pourrait compenser l'effondrement du commerce régional. Mais la prise en compte des coǔts de transport qui sont plus élevés en Europe de l'Est suggère que ce potentiel ne peut ěre exploité qu' è travers la réduction de ces coǔts en Europe de l'Est et è travers une libéralisation plus poussée des échanges. Le processus de désintégration a t'il été coǔteux? Le calcul de la destruction de commerce (DC) versus création (CC) et destruction extérieure de commerce (DEC) dans le modèle de Viner montre que le coǔt est positif mais décroissant. L'importante réorientation des échanges tend è améliorer le bien-ětre dans la région.

Notes: The paper defines entrepreneurship as about ‘self-competition’, the quest to test self-ability: Can a future self achieve greater goals than what has been so far achieved? Self-competition involves the development of ability and, hence, ex post assessment of ability is uncertain. Such uncertainty occasions either immobilizing anxiety (Buridan's ass) or entrepreneurial action. No such uncertainty surrounds the assessment of risk probability characterizing events such as floods and stock market crashes. An observable prediction of the proposed uncertainty/risk dichotomy is that insurance, which concerns risk, cannot crowd out religion and other belief systems which appeal to uncertainty.〈section xml:id="abs1-2"〉〈title type="main"〉ZUSAMMENFASSUNGIn diesem Papier wird Unternehmertum im Sinne von ‘Selbst-Konkurrenz’ deftniert, als Streben, die eigenen Fähigkeiten unter Beweis zu stellen: Kann das zukünftige Ich höhere Ziele als bisher erreichen?Selbst-Konkurrenz beinhaltet die Entwicklung von Fähigkeiten, und daher ist deren ex post Einschätzung unsicher. Diese Unsicherheit führt entweder zu einer lähmenden Angst (Burdians Esel) oder zu unternehmerischer Aktivität. Im Gegensatz dazu ist die Einschätzung der Risikowahrscheinlichkeit von Überschwemmungen oder Kursschwankungen an der Börse nicht von einer solchen Unsicherheit geprägt. Als beobachtbare Voraussage aus der vorgeschlagenen Unsicher-heit/Risiko-Dichotomie heraus ergibt sich, dass eine dieses Risiko betreffende Versicherung nicht in der Lage ist, Religion und andere Glaubenssysteme, die sich auf Unsicherheit bezichen, zu verdrängen.〈section xml:id="abs1-3"〉〈title type="main"〉RÉSUMÉCe papier définit ľesprit entrepreneur comrne ‘une concurrence de soi’, la quete d'éprouver la capacityé de soi: Est-ce possible qu'un futur-soi puisse achever de plus grands buts qu'il a déjà accomplis? Une concurrence de soi consiste du développcinent de sa capacityé, done, ľévaluation ex past de cette capacityé n'est pas certaine.Une telle incertitude mène à une anxiété paralysante (ľǎne de Buridan) ou àľ action entreprenante. Une incertitude de la sorte n'entoure pas ľévaluation de la probabilityé de risque qui caractérisent les événements tels comme ľ inondation ou la chute de la Bourse. Une prédiction qu'on petit observer de la dichotomie proposée incertitude/risque, c'est que ľ assurance, qui concerne le risque, doit laisser de place aux réligions et aux autres systèmes de croyance qui invoquent ľ incertitude.

Notes: The paper results from interviews held among economists from Central and Eastern Europe. It tries to get an inside view on the profession under communist rule. As expected, the results depend upon period and country under analysis. Poland and Hungary did not lose contact with Western developments, while the Soviet Union and the GDR and also Czechoslovakia after 1968 isolated themselves completely. In Russia there was an own development in the sphere of optimal planning theory. In the GDR strict political control and adherence to dogmatism led to sterility. Reform thinking became stronger in the 1980s, with the exception of the GDR and Russia. The results are corroborated by the personal situation of the individual economist. Asked where they see the lasting contribution of economics under communism, most respondents are rather pessimistic: it is more the abortive practice of Soviet-type central planning which taught a lesson than the theoretical developments of the period.〈section xml:id="abs1-2"〉〈title type="main"〉ZUSAMMENFASSUNGDie Studie ist das Ergebnis von Interviews, die unter Wirtschaftswissenschaftlern aus Mittel- und Osteuropa gehalten wurden. Sie sucht einen Blick von innen auf die Entwicklung einer Wissenschaft unter kommunistischer Herrschaft zu gewinnen. Das Resultat hängt von der jeweiligen Periode und dem jeweiligen Land ab. Polen und Ungarn haben den Kontakt zum Westen nicht verloren. Russland und die DDR, ebenso die CSSR nach 1968, haben sich dagegen vollständig isoliert. Russland kannte eine eigene Entwicklung in der Planungstheorie. In der DDR führten dagegen politische Kontrolle und Dogmatismus zur Sterilität. Mit Ausnahme dieserbeiden Länder wuchs das Reformdenken in den 80er Jahren stetig an. Die Ergebnisse spiegeln sich auch in der persönlichen Situation der einzelnen Wissenschaftler wider. Nach dem bleibenden Beitrag der Ökonomie unter dem Kommunismus befragt, zeigen sich die Antworten eher pessimistisch: nicht die theoretischen Errungenschaften der Periode sind lehrreich, vielmehr aber das abschreckende Beispiel des sowjetischen Zentralplansystems.〈section xml:id="abs1-3"〉〈title type="main"〉RÉSUMÉL' article rend compte des résultats d'interviews réalisés auprès d'économistes des pays de l'Europe Centrale et Orientale. II présente une vision de l'intérieur sur le développement de la science économique sous le régime communiste. Les résultats dépendent de la période et du pays analyses. La Pologne et la Hongrie n'ont jamais perdu le contact avec la science économique occidentale, tandis que la Russie, l'Allemagne de l'Est et, après 1968, la Tchécoslovaquie s'en sont isolés complètement. Avec la théorie de la planification optimale, la Russie a connu son propre développement. En RDA, le contrǒle politique et le dogmatisme ont abouti à une stérilité théorique. À l'éxception de ces deux derniers pays, la pensée réformiste s'est renforcée continument au cours des années 80. Ces résultats se reflètent aussi dans la situation personnelle faite aux économistes. Quant a la contribution durable de la science économique sous le communisme, les réponses sont peu optimistes: ce ne sont pas tellement les développements théoriques qui survivront à la periode soviétique, mais plutöt (‘experience avortée de la planification centrale de type soviétique.

Notes: This paper presents the results of an overlapping-generations experiment on the individual choice between intergenerational transfers and savings. One dominant finding of our experiment is that if savings are possible individuals choose to (gradually) opt out of the intergenerational transfer system. In that case the average individual pay-offs are lower but their distribution among individuals is less volatile. This suggests that risk aversion is a driving force behind the decline of intergenerational transfers. The willingness to give to previous generations does not disappear completely, however. Moreover, the degree of cohesion between successive generations, measured by (lie correlation between current and past transfers does not diminish significantly after the introduction of (he savings option.〈section xml:id="abs1-2"〉〈title type="main"〉ZUSAMMIENEASSUNGDicser Artikcl präsentierl die ErgebnisseeinesOvcrlapping-Generations-Experitnents, indent sich die Tcilnehmer zwisehen tnlergenerationalcn Transfers und Sparen entscheiden mussten. Eines der Hauptergcbnisse besteht darin, dass die Einführung der Mögliehkeit zur individuellen Zukunfts-vorsorge durch Sparen zu einer (allmählichen) Zurückdrängung von intergencrationalen Transfers führt. Im Fall des Sparens isl die durehschnittliche individuclle Auszahlung zwar geringer, dafür aber weniger unsieher. Die Zurückdrangung intergenerationaler Transfers lässt sich dahcr durch Risikoaversion erklären. Dennoch verschwindct die Bereitschaft, an die vorausgehende Generation abzugeben, nicht völlig. Ausserdein vennindert sich die Stärke des Zusatnnienhalts zwisehen aufcinanderlolgcnden Generalionen, getnessen durch die Korrelation zwisehen gegenwärtigen und früheren Transfers, nicht wesentlich durch die Einführung der Mögliehkeit des Sparens.〈section xml:id="abs1-3"〉〈title type="main"〉RÉSUMÉLe papier présente des résultats expérimentaux sur les choix individuels entre transferts inter-génération et épargnc. Un des résultats principaux est que s'il est possible d'épargncr, alors (progressivement) les agents passent du système de transfer! inter-générationnelausystème d'épargne. Dans de cas le payoff moyen des agents est plus faible mais la distribution des payoffs est inoins volatile. Ceei suggère que l'aversion pour le risque est l'une des prineipales causes du déclin des transferts intergénération. Cependant, les transferts inter-génération ne disparaissent pas totalement. De plus, le degré de cohesion entre les génération successives, mesuré par la corrélation entre les transferts présents et passés, ne diminue pas significativemenl apres l'introduction de la possibilityé d'épargncr.

Notes: This paper investigates spatial disparities in unemployment in three Member States of the EU. It attempts to identify the factors responsible for the persistence of regional unemployment disparities in Germany, Italy and the UK during 1984-94. The empirical results indicate that a substantial proportion of the variation in unemployment rates between NUTS2 level regions can be explained by regional disparities in three key variables: unit labour costs, the industry mix and employment density. The findings are consistent with the view that regional unemployment disparities are explained primarily by regional disparities in economic competitiveness.〈section xml:id="abs1-2"〉〈title type="main"〉ZUSAMMENFASSUNODieser Artikel untersucht die räumlichen Unterschiede in der Höhe der Arbeitslosigkeit in drei Mitgliedsstaaten der EU. Er basiert auf dem Versuch, die Faktoren zu bestimmen, die im Zeitraum zwischen 1984 und 1994 für die Persistenz von regionalen Unterschieden der Höhe der Arbeitslosigkeit in Deutschland, Italien und Grossbritannien verantwortlich waren. Die empirischen Ergeb-nisse zeigen, dass ein wesentlicher Teil der Unterschiede in der Höhe der Arbeitslosigkeit zwischen NUTS2 Regionen durch eine regional unterschiedliche Ausprägung von drei wichtigen Variablen erklärt werden kann: Lohnstückkosten, Wirtschaftsstruktur und Zahl der Arbeitsplätze pro Quadratkilometer. Die Ergebnisse bestätigen die Ansicht, dass die regional unterschiedlich hohe Arbeitslosigkeit hauptsächlich durch Unterschiede der regionalen Wettbewerbsfähigkeit zu cr-klüren ist.〈section xml:id="abs1-3"〉〈title type="main"〉RÉSUMÉCe document examine les disparités géographiques du chǒmage dans trois États membres de l'Union Européenne. Nous essayerons d'identifier les facteurs responsables de la persistance des disparités en chǒmage régional en Ailemagne, en Italie el au Royaume-Uni pendant la période 1984-94. Les résultats empiriques indiquent qu'une proportion importante de la variation du taux de chǒmage entre les régions de la catégorie NUTS2 peut s'expliquer par des disparités régionales en trois variables prépondérantes: le coǔt unitaire d'emploi, la structure industrielle et la densité d'emploi. Les résultats coïncident avec l'avis que les disparités du chǒmage régional s'expliquent surtout par les disparités régionales en compétitivitééconomique.

Notes: Alvesson Mats (1993): Cultural Perspectives on OrganizationsAtkinson, Anthony B. (ed.) (1993): Alternatives to CapitalismAyres, Robert U. (1994): Information, Entropy, and ProgressBaranzini, Mauro and Geoffrey S. Harcourt (eds.) (1993): The Dynamics ofthe Wealth of NationsCaprio, Gerard; David Folkerts-Landau and Timothy D. Lane (1994): Building Sound Finance in Emerging Market EconomiesCastles, Stephen and Mark J. Miller (1993): The Age of MigrationChow, Peter Y. and Mitchell H. Kellman (1993): Trade – the Engine of Growth in East AsiaCooper, Charles (ed.) (1994): Technology and Innovation in the International EconomyFransman, Martin (1993): The Market and BeyondGalbraith, John Kenneth (1993): A Journey Through Economic TimeHayes, J.P. (1993): Making Trade Policy in the European CommunityHodgson, Geoffrey M.; J. Warren J. Samuels and Marc R. Tool (1994): The Elgar Companion to Institutional and Evolutionary EconomicsHoffmann, Lutz (1993): Warten auf den AufschwungLibecap, Gary D. (1994): Contracting for Property RightsOates, Wallace E. (ed.) (1993): The Economics of the EnvironmentPerelman, Michael (1993): The Pathology of the US. Economy

Notes: The German author Heinrich Ludwig Lambert Gall (1794-1863) who is characterized as socialist by the authors of histories of economic thought proposed a policy for full employment, based on the multiplier-principle and public expenditures financed by taxes, since 1822. Not Rodbertus but Gall was the first one describing the multiplier scheme. The interpretation of Gall's publications shows his important ideas about interventionism similar to the modern theory of full employment and the activity of the state.

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