ALBERT

Notes: I present an integrated survey of management strategy, which examines organizational design, competitive strategy, and public policy considerations. In addition, 1 offer suggestions on how economic analysis can be applied in unifying and developing management strategy as a field of study.

Notes: Under prospective pricing, payers for health care essentially use price regulation of hospitals as a way of indirectly regulating the provision of treatment intensity. This paper presents a theory of how a nonprofit hospital selects treatment intensities for its products given the payer's choice of prices and then determines how the payer should select prices in light of this theory. The main result is that, in equilibrium, the ratio of price to marginal cost will vary across products inversely with the elasticity of demand with respect to treatment intensity. This means that, generally, the hospital will earn positive (negative) accounting profit on products with low-(high-) intensity elasticities of demand.

Notes: Legislation to create optional no-fault insurance (ONFL) programs has recently been enacted in Florida and Virginia. ONFI programs provide compensation to patients when certain medical complications arise, provided the patient agrees not to sue the doctor for additional damages. The optimal design of ONFI programs is explored in this paper, focusing on the incentive effects of ONFI programs. The question of whether ONFI programs should be funded entirely by participating doctors, or whether social subsidies are optimal, is examined.

Notes: When it was legal, resale price maintenance (RPM) was commonly observed on items such as aspirin, pens, pencils, toothpaste, soap, shaving cream, and milk. In providing a theory that is based on compensating retailers for their opportunity cost of shelf space, and that does not hinge on the existence of externalities in nonprice competition, this article explains why a manufacturer might impose RPM on these and many other products. By contrast, the use of RPM on food, grocery, and drug store items is not easily explained by standard theories such as free riding on presale services and quality certification by high-priced retailers.〈blockFixed type="quotation"〉The typical supermarket has room for fewer than 25,000 products. Yet there are some 100,000 available, and between 10,000 and 25,000 items aye introduced each year./〉

Notes: Why does the cost of organizing particular activities differ across competitors? This article explores in detail the organization of Nucor, a steel minimill that has sustained a significant cost advantage over its competitors. Nucor's past success highlights the complementarities among organizational policies and competitive advantage as well as barriers to the imitation of apparently superior organizational arrangements. The case study also suggests avenues for additional empirical and theoretical research.

Notes: What accounts for the diversity and limited concentration that has long characterized the organization of the advertising agency industry? This question is addressed by treating an advertising agency as a multiproduct firm. The firm's product line or service mix is defined in terms of the set of different media categories where an agency places the advertising messages that it creates on behalf of its clients. Evidence is presented indicating that the structure of demand and costs in the advertising agency industry conforms to the conditions that MacDonald and Slivinski showed were required for an industry to sustain an equilibrium with diversified firms.Building on this framework, we formulate a set of three hypotheses relating to the realization of product-specific scale and scope economies. The first two hypotheses posit that given low fixed costs and minimal entry barriers, both media-specific scale and scope economies are available and can be exploited by relatively small-size agencies. The third hypothesis suggests that large agencies may experience diseconomies of scope as a consequence of excessive diversification induced by two pervasive industry institutional phenomena: (1) “bundling” of agency services to match client demand for a mix of media advertising, and (2) “conflict policy,” which prohibits an agency from serving competing accounts and operates as a mobility constraint.Utilizing a multiproduct cost function, we estimate media-specific scale and scope economies for a cross section of 401 U.S. agencies in 1987. The results obtained support the set of three hypotheses outlined above. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of these findings for the restructuring currently underway in this industry.

Notes: Recent advances in the theoretical literature have greatly expanded our understanding of the forces that shape the competitive dynamics of research and development, but a paucity of sufficiently detailed empirical data has left these insights relatively untested. We draw on unusually detailed qualitative and quantitative infernal data provided at the research program level by 10 major pharmaceutical firms to explore the usefulness of the modern literature as a source of insight into the dynamics of competition in ethical drug discovery.Our analysis focuses on one particularly compelling aspect of the literature: the suggestion that in “winner take all situations,” competition in R&D becomes a Prisoner's Dilemma, leading to overinvestment in research. Without adequate measures of the social return to innovation, we can say nothing about whether there is “too much” or “too little” research undertaken by the industry, but our results do not support the suggestion that R&D investment in drug discovery is driven by the “tit-for-tat” or simple reaction function models hinted at by the institutional literature. First, R&D investment is only weakly correlated across firms once common responses to exogenous shocks are accounted far, and second, rivals' R&D results are positively correlated with own research productivity, which we interpret as evidence for extensive R&D spillovers rather than the depletion externality implied by “winner take all” models.These results are not, of themselves, sufficient to reject the hypothesis that investment behavior in the industry is driven by strategic considerations since there is theoretical support for a wide variety of observable behavior as equilibrium outcomes of strategic interaction. Nonetheless, they suggest that the more extreme forms of rent dissipation identified in the literature are probably poor characterizations of the reality of competition in pharmaceuticals. Our results point both to the need to develop theories that incorporate richer models of possible payoff structures, adjustment costs, and firm heterogeneity and to the need to collect empirical data that is comprehensive enough to enable one to test them.

Notes: Empirical work has failed to keep pace with recent advances in transaction cost theory and the theory of contract. The first econometric analysis of its kind is reported by using a new data set of small subcuntractors making specific inputs for customers in the engineering industry. The use of formal contracts is found to be strongly associated with specific investment and other variables measuring technological complexity and vulnerability to potential opportunism by customers. Furthermore, despite typically long-term relationships, over half of subcontractors avoid making efficient, specific investments. Overall, we find strong support for the transaction cost theory of contracts.

Notes: We examine the relationship between chief executive officer (CEO) compensation and acquisition activity subsequent to corporate restructurings in a sample of 152 firms created by a voluntary corporate spin-off. We also investigate the linkage between these relationships and the stock market reaction to the initial restructuring announcements. Surprisingly, CEO wealth in the form of stock and options is strongly related to friendly and hostile acquisition activity, respectively. Moreover, the stock market appears to anticipate this subsequent acquisition activity. These results ask us to rethink our understanding of the motivational properties of equity ownership and the stock market's reaction to voluntary corporate spin-off announcements.

Notes: This paper studies the firm's choice between implicit and explicit contracts as alternative methods of assuring product quality. The relationship between these two contractual forms is studied using a dynamic model with imperfect monitoring and team moral hazard where both the firm and the consumer take unobservable actions that affect product performance. The firm chooses the contractual arrangement that maximizes expected profit. Identified are conditions on the primitive attributes of the transactions and on the firm's environment that can help explain why firms might decide to use explicit contracting, implicit contracting, or a combination of the two. I also show that there are conditions under which the introduction of reputation causes explicit contracts to be more uniform and less sensitive to the details of the transaction than implied by static models.

Notes: We study the firm's incentives to engage in research for pollution-control technologies and to adopt new technologies that if discovers or that are discovered by other firms. Licensing of discoveries is assumed possible. We also study the regulator's problem in designing optimal environmental regulations that both control pollution and provide incentives for research. Technology adoption standards are part of the optimal regulation. Another finding is that making the adoption standard stricter reduces research.

Notes: We investigate the role of price advertising in a market where consumers are imperfectly informed about prices. We consider a monopolist whose demand depends on price and advertising expenditure. This demand function is derived from optimizing behavior of consumers. Uninformed consumers may pay a cost to visit the seller and obtain price information. Advertising enables the monopolist to increase the number of informed consumers. In equilibrium the uninformed consumers form rational price expectations, and the seller necessarily adopts a random pricing and advertising strategy.

Notes: A model of advertising is presented in which consumption experience is an imperfect indicator of product quality. In equilibrium, neither price nor advertising signal the quality of newly introduced goods. Advertising of established products can be a signal of quality, but if it is, it must be an imperfect signal leaving residual uncertainty that influences consumers’ repurchase decision. A set of observable implications follow.

Notes: A model of procedural decision making in firms is combined with an oligopoly model to study the effect of limited managerial cognition on firm flexibility. It is argued that a firm may vary its flexibility, and, hence, that there exists a trade-off between decision-making costs and costs due to imperfect adjustment to the environment. The main conclusions are the following: (1) The level of flexibility chosen by firms tends to be too low, from a social welfare point of view. (2) Entry reduces firm flexibility. Aggregated flexibility in the market may, however, increase in which case consumers are unambiguously better off. (3) Integration of isolated markets increases firm flexibility and consumer welfare.

Notes: This paper studies a model in which two payers contract with one hospital. True costs per patient are not a possible basis for payment, and contracts can only be written on the basis of allocated cost. Payers choose a contract that is fully prospective or fully based on cost allocation, or a payment scheme that would give some weight to each of these two. We characterize the payers'equilibrium contracts arid show how in equilibrium hospital input decisions are distorted by the payers’ incentives to engage in cost shifting. Two cost-shifting incentives work in opposite directions, and equilibrium can be characterized by too little or too much care relative to the socially efficient level.

Notes: This paper compares the cost and quality incentive effects of cost reimbursement and prospective payment systems in the health industry. When a provider cannot refuse patients who require high treatment costs or discriminate patients by qualities, optimally designed prospective payments can implement the efficient quality and cost reduction efforts, but cost reimbursement cannot induce any cost incentive. When the provider can refuse expensive patients, implementation of the first best requires a piecewise linear reimbursement rule that can be interpreted as a mixture of pure prospective payment and pure cost reimbursement, Under appropriate conditions, prospective payment can implement the first best even when the provider can use qualities to discriminate patients.

Notes: While the economic approach to the politics of regulation emphasizes the importance of organized economic interests in shaping policies, political institutions in which regulatory agencies are embedded may also have significant effects. By including both economic influences and characteristics of political institutions in a model of price setting by state regulators, this paper demonstrates that both shape regulatory behavior in the telecommunications industry. Whether commissioners are elected or appointed, whether they face confirmation by a legislature, and whether a single party controls both executive and legislative branches of state governments influence the level of prices charged for basic services.

Notes: We investigate the choice of compensation scheme by firms. Our basic model shows that the unique equilibrium choice for profit maximizing duopsonists in a labor market is for one firm to offer a wage rate and for the other to offer a piece rate. This result arises because the firms recognize that, by offering different compensation schemes, they induce self-selection among workers, which thereby decreases the intensity of competition in the labor market. We find this asymmetry to be robust to allowing for firing, free entry, and a class of more general compensation schemes. When we broaden our model to permit firms to be differentiated in the eyes of workers (either geographically or by “other working conditions,” e.g.), we find that our results are preserved when differentiation is low, but that both firms choose to offer a piece rate when differentiation is high.

Notes: In the present study I identify an inherent characteristic of health care markets that may lead to excessive investment by hospitals even when compensated according to a prospective reimbursement rule. It is demonstrated that the stochastic nature of the demand for medical services combined with the lumpiness of investment decisions may give rise to excessive investment when multiple hospitals select independently their levels of capacities. The source for the excessive incentives to invest is the difficulty of one hospital to internalize properly the externality generated by its investment decisions. Such an externality arises because when one hospital expands its capacity, it is more likely to be able to serve not only patients residing in its region but patients residing in neighboring regions as well.

Notes: What is the nature of the industrial organization of the market for physician services? Is the market “competitive?” Are there pareto-relevant market failures, such that there is room for welfare-improving policies? Economists have devoted a great deal of attention to this market, but it remains relatively poorly understood. The key features of this market are that the product being sold is a professional service, and the pervasive presence of insurance for consumers. A professional service is inherently heterogeneous, nonretradable, and subject to an asymmetry of information between buyers and sellers. These characteristics are what bestow market power on sellers, further strengthened by the fact that consumers face only a small fraction of the price of any service due to insurance. This paper considers the implications of these characteristics for agency relationships between patients and physicians, and insurers (both private and public) and physicians. Agency relationships within physician firms are also considered. Both theoretical and empirical modeling of contracting between insurers and physicians and of the joint agency problems between patient and physician and insurer and physician are recommended as areas for future research. Because failures in this market are seen to derive largely from the structure of information, the potential gains from government intervention may be sharply circumscribed. Nonetheless, careful consideration of the competitive implications of contracting between physicians, insurers, and other health care providers is an important area for antitrust policy.

Notes: Books reviewed in this article: Economics, Organization and Management, by Paul Milgrom and John Roberts

Notes: The publication of the passive learning model of Jovanovic and subsequently the active exploration model of Ericson and Pakes led to a resurgence in research on firm growth and survival. Empirical work measuring the relationship of growth and survival relative to size and age uncovered a number of strong regularities, consistent with the new theoretical models and also with a rather broad class of models of which the above represent special cases. But recent theoretical work has shown that when the learning models are applied to the special case of the labor managed firm, most of the sharp empirical predictions derived for profit maximization are rendered indeterminate. Given the impact of ownership structure on the theoretical results of the learning models, we use a dataset of French producer cooperatives to determine whether firms of different ownership structures actually have substantially different growth and survival patterns. We find that French cooperatives survive and grow in very much the same way as has been found for U.S. firms, suggesting that the empirical regularities previously uncovered hold for a much broader class of firms. We are left to conclude that the underlying empirical growth and survival relationships continue to hold for firms with sharply differing ownership structures, and the theoretical models are attempting to explain these broad-based relationships by means of overly specific modeling.

Notes: This paper uses origin-destination data to define geographic local hospital markets in large metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs). Results support past findings of service rather than price competition, with negative-cost Herfandahl-Hirschman indexes relationships at the market level (and sub-MSA level) and with profit margins negatively related to hospital market competition. The effects of total (direct plus indirect) market competition are unchanged between 1983 and 1988, precisely estimated, robust to estimation techniques, and unaffected by whether the number of direct competitors is included as an explanatory variable.

Notes: Users of photogrammetric data have often been puzzled by conflicting advice given by companies regarding achievable height accuracies which could be expected from varying scales of aerial photography. The author chairs the Photogrammetry Group which is convened under the auspices of the Council of the UK Land and Hydrographic Survey Association (TSA). The first aim of this Group was to establish some common ground among TSA member companies with regard to achievable heighting accuracies. A series of tests was carried out on the most commonly used photographic scales and guidelines were published to clients based on these tests. 〈section xml:id="abs1-2"〉〈title type="main"〉Résumé Les utilisateurs des données photogrammétriques ont été souvent déconcertés par les avis contraires émanant des entreprises concernant les précisions altimétriques accessibles à partir de diverses échelles des photographies aériennes. Dans ce contexte, le Conseil de ľ‘Association britannique des levées terrestres et hydrographiques (TSA) a mis sur pied un Groupe “Photogrammétrie” et en a confié la présidence àľauteur. Le premier objectif de ce Groupe a consistéàétablir des bases communes aux entreprises membres de la TSA, en ce qui concerne les précisions altimétriques réalisables. On a effectué un ensemble ď essais sur les échelles des photographies aériennes les plus communément utilisées et ľ on a publicé, à partir de ces essais un opuscule destinéà guider les clients. 〈section xml:id="abs1-3"〉〈title type="main"〉Zusammenfassung Die Nutzer photogrammetrischer Daten werden oft durch widerspriich-liche Ratschläge der Firmen in bezug auf die bei verschiedenen Bildmaβstäben erreichbare Höhengenauigkeit verwirrt. Der Autor leitet den photogrammetrischen Ausschuβ, der unter Aufsicht des Council des UK Land and Hydrographic Survey Association (TSA) einberufen wurde. Erstes Ziel dieses Gremiums war es, eine gemeinsame Grundlage unter den TSA-Mitgliedsgesellschaften im Hinblick auf erreichbare Höhengenauigkeit zu schaffen. Es wurde eine Reihe von Versuchen zu den am meisten verwendeten Bildmaβstäben durchgeführt, undes wurden daraufberuhende Richtlinien für Kunden veröffentlicht.

Notes: Cartography andphotogrammetry have always been strongly linked and this paper emphasises a view of cartography as a process of spatial data representation, rather than as a method of creating a product, a map. Of course, the definition of cartography must change with developments in its practice. An outline of the historical background to the subject is presented, followed by a consideration of the relationship between the cartographer and the user of the product. The basic problems involved in the transfer of information from the complex real world to a generalized cartographic product are analysed and technological aspects of the discipline are described. Contemporary applications of cartography include hazard mapping, links with GIS, tactile products and electronic hydrographic representation, all of which represent customer driven progress. It is concluded that the future of cartography is, overall, dependent on a graphical representation of high quality being supplied to the end user, rather than on the methods used to attain this objective. 〈section xml:id="abs1-2"〉〈title type="main"〉Résumé La cartographie et la photogramétrie ont toujours été liées étroitement ľune àľautre, et ľ‘on souligne dans cet article ľ‘idée que la cartographie est un systéme de représentation des données à trois dimensions, plutôt qu‘un ensemble de procédés de fabrication ďun produit, la carte. II est évident que la définition de la cartographie doit changer au fur et à mesure que des évolutions apparaissent dans sa pratique. Aprés un aperçu du contexte historique de ce thème, on examine les relations qui se développent entre le cartographe et ľutilisateur du produit. On analyse les problèmes fondamentaux du transfert ďinformations du monde réel, complexe, à un produit cartographique géneralisé et ľ‘on décrit la technologie qu'utilise cette discipline. Les applications récentes de la cartographie concernent la cartographie des risques naturels, les relations avec les SIG, les cartes qui se lisent par le toucher, et la représentation electronique de ľ‘hydrographic produits qui tous sont issus de cheminements pilotés en aval, par le client. On en déduit que la cartographie est, àľ'avenir, par dessus tout fonction ďune represséntation graphique de haute qualityé fournie à un utilisateur final, plutôt que de processus utilisé pour parvenir à cet objectif.〈section xml:id="abs1-3"〉〈title type="main"〉Zusammenfassung Kartographie und Photogrammetrie waren immer eng verbunden, und dieser Beitrag betont starker eine Auffassung von der Kartographie als einem Prozeβ der Darstellung von Raumdaten als ein Verfahren zur Herstellung eines Erzeugnisses, der Karte. Natürlich muβ sich die Definition der Kartographie bei Entwicklungen in ihrer Praxis ändern. Es erfolgt eine Skizzierung des historischen Hintergrundes des Gegenstands, gefolgt von Betrachtungen zur Beziehung zwischen Kartographen und dem Nutzer des Erzeugnisses. Die mit der Übertragung von Informationen aus der komplexen realen Welt in ein generalisiertes kartographisches System verbundenen grundlegenden Probleme werden analysiert, und es werden technologische Aspekte der Disziplin beschrieben. Zeitgenössische Anwendungen der Kartographie schlieβen die Kartierung von Katastrophen, Verbindungen zu GPS, gefühlsmäβge Erzeugnisse und elektronische hydrographische Darstellungen ein, die alle den vom Nutzer beeinflufiten Fortschritt darstellen. Es wird geschluffolgert, daft die Zukunft der Kartographie vor allem von der graphischen Darstellung hoher Qualität, die dem Endnutzer geliefert wird, abhängig ist undnicht so sehr von den Methoden, me dieses Ziel erreicht wird.

Notes: Since its foundation in 1982, the Institut Cartogràfic de Catalunya has been dealing with digital images. Though digital images and techniques were initially confined to remote sensing, they have been gradually transferred to and combined with photogrammetry. In addition to the development of remote sensing and digital orthophotography systems, this expertise has facilitated the introduction of commercially available digital photogrammetric systems (scanning and stereocompilation) which are now in full operation. The paper describes the experience in scanning, orthophotography production and stereocompilation, draws some conclusions and gives an insight of the future of digital photogrammetry. 〈section xml:id="abs1-2"〉〈title type="main"〉Résumé L‘Institut Cartographique de Catalogue s‘est intéressé au traitement des images numériques depuis le moment où il a été crée, en 1982. Bien qu'au début les images numériques et leur technologie aient été réservées à la télédétection, elles se sont trouvées peu à peu transférées et intégrées à la photogrammétrie. Ce savoir-faire a permis le développement des systèmes de télédétection et ď orthophotographie numérique et a, de plus, facilité la mise à disposition sur le marché de systèmes de photogrammétrie numérique qui sont maintenant pleinement opérationnels. On présente dans cet article ľ expérience acquise dans le domaine du balayage, de la production des orthophotographies et de la stéréocompilation, on en tire quelques conclusions et ľ on termine par un aperçu sur ľ‘avenir de la photogrammétrie numérique. 〈section xml:id="abs1-3"〉〈title type="main"〉Zusammenfassung Seit seiner Gründung im Jahre 1982 hat sich das Institut Cartogràfic de Catalunya mit digitalen Bildern beschäftigt. Obwohl digitate Bilder und Verfahren ursprünglich auf die Fernerkundung begrenzt waren, wurden sie schrittweise auf die Photogrammetrie übertragen bzw. mit ihr kombiniert. Zusätzlich zur Entwicklung von Fernerkundung und digitaler Orthophoto-Systeme hat diese Erfahrung die Einführung kommerziell verfügbarer digitaler photogrammetrischer Systeme erleichtert, die jetzt überall in der Praxis angewendet werden. Der Beitrag beschreibt die Erfahrung bei der Abtastung, der Herstellung von Orthophotos und bei der Stereoauswertung und gibt einige Schluβfolgerungen und Aussichten in bezug auf die Digitalphotogrammetrie wieder.

Notes: The paper entitled The Photogrammetric Society Analogue Instrument Project was published in The Photogrammetric Record, 14(82): 565–582 (October 1993) and contained, as Appendix A, an extract from the Archive concerned with the history of the Zeiss Stereoplanigraph in Great Britain. In The Photogrammetric Record, 14(83): 769–782 (April 1994), three further Appendices were published which dealt with the Williamson Multiplex equipment and other instruments. In this third extract, the history of five other instruments of the Multiplex type are described. This brings to a close that section of the Archive dealing with instruments using direct optical projection.〈section xml:id="abs1-2"〉〈title type="main"〉Résumé On a publicé dans le numéro 14(82) (pp 565–582) ďoctobre 1993 du“Photogrammetric Record”ľarticle intitulé“le projet de la Société (britannique) de Photogrammétrie sur les instruments analogiques” et inséré dans ľannexe A un extrait des Archives relatif a ľhistorie du Stereoplan-igraphe Zeiss en Grande-Bretagne. On a publicé dans le numéro 14 (83) ďavril 1994 du“Photogrammetric Record”(pp 769–782) trois annexes supplémentaires qui traitaient de ľappareil Multiplex de Williamson et ďautres instruments. Dans ce troisième extrait, on présente ľhistorie de cinq autres appareils du type Multiplex. Cette partie des Archives qui traitait des appareils basés sur ľemploi ďuneprojection optique directe, se trouve ainsi achevee.〈section xml:id="abs1-3"〉〈title type="main"〉Zusammenfassung Der Beitrag mit dem Titel“The Photogrammetric Society Analogue Instrument Project”wurde im Photogrammetric Record, 14(82): 565–582 (Oktober 1993) veröffentlicht und enthielt als Anlage A einen Extrakt vom Archiv, das mit der Geschichte des Zeiss Steroplanigraph in Groβbritannien verbunden war. Im Photogrammetric Record, 14(83); 769–782 (April 1984) wurden 3 weitere Anlagen veröffentlicht, die vom Williamson Multiplex und anderen Geräten handelten. In diesem 3. Auszug wird die Geschichte von 5 anderen Geräten des Multiplex-Typs beschrieben. Das führt zum Abschluβ desjenigen Teils des Archivs, das sich mit Geräten mit direkter optischer Projektion befaβt.

Notes: An analysis is given of the modelling of XY stage errors in an analytical plotter by polynomial functions. This is discussed as an alternative to demanding strict mechanical accuracy in the stage construction. In an era of plentiful computational resources, it is concluded that apportioning more of the responsibility to the mathematical co-ordinate refinement is an effective strategy. A second degree polynomial is used for each of the two stages in an analytical plotter, modelling the systematic stage errors to within the variability of a single observation. A requirement for instrument stability is emphasized. Such techniques have application for other instruments such as image scanners. 〈section xml:id="abs1-2"〉〈title type="main"〉Résumé On étudie la modélisation des erreurs des chariots XY ďun restituteur analytique en utilisant des fonctions polynomials. II s‘agit en fait de trouver une alternative à des exigences de prêcision mêcanique très strictes dans la réalisation de ces chariots. A une époque oùľon dispose ďune abondance de ressources en moyens de calcul, il apparait en effet relever ďune stratégie efficace de s'appuyer davantage sur les traitements mathématiques pour améliorer les valeurs des coordonnées. On utilise, pour chacun des deux chariots, un polynome du second degrè pour modéliser les erreurs systématiques des chariots, et les rendre inférieures aux erreurs propres à une observation unique. On insiste sur la nécessitéďune grande stabilityé instrumental. Ces processus peuvent également s'appliquer àďautres instruments comme les scanneurs ďimages. 〈section xml:id="abs1-3"〉〈title type="main"〉Zusammenfassung Es wird die Modellierung von Fehlern des xy-Wagens bei analytischen Auswertegeräten mit Hilfe von Polynomen analysiert. Des wird als Alternative zur Forderung nach einer strengen mechanischen Genauigkeit bei der Bildwagenkonstruktion diskutiert. Im Zeitalter hervorragender Computer-Ressourcen, so wird geschluβfolgert, ist es eine effektive Strategie, sich mehr der mathematischen Koordinatenverbesserung zuzuwenden. Ein Polynom 2. Grades wird für jeden der 2 Bildträger eines analytischen Auswertegerätes genutzt, um die systematischen Fehler im Bereich der Variation von einzelnen Beobachtungen zu modellieren. Bezüglich der Stabilität des Instruments wird eine Anforderung formuliert. Solche Verfahren kännen auch bei anderen Geräten, wie zum Beispiel Bildscanner angewendet werden.

Notes: Photogrammetry is used extensively in British Coal Opencast to provide surface profiles of both new sites and existing sites. This paper will discuss the development of GPS within Opencast and its deployment as a tool to provide the ground control required for mapping. Comparisons with conventional equipment will also be made and relative cost effectiveness assessed. 〈section xml:id="abs1-2"〉〈title type="main"〉Résumé On utilise largement la photogrammétrie dans British Coal Opencast, pour déterminer des profiles de surface, à la fois dans les sites nouveaux et dans les sites en cours. On examine dans cet article ľ emploi du GPS dans ces mines et son développement comme outil permettant ď obtenir les points ď appui sur le terrain nécessaires à la cartographie. On se propose defaire les comparaisons avec les équipements classiques et ďévaluer les avantages relatifs coût/efficacité. 〈section xml:id="abs1-3"〉〈title type="main"〉Zusammenfassung Die Photogrammetrie wird bei den Britischen Kohlen-Tagebauen extensiv zur Beschaffung von Oberflächenprofilen sowohl bei Neuaufschlüssen als auch bei bestehenden Gruben eingesetzt. Im Artikel wird die Entwicklung von GPS und seine Entwicklung als Hilfsmittel zur Beschaffung der für die Kartenherstellung benötigten Paβpunkte diskutiert. Es erfolgen auch Vergleiche mit der konventionellen Ausrüstung und in bezug auf die relative Kosteneffektivität.

Notes: An investigation has been made into the feasibility of using a low cost GPS receiver fitted to a light fixed wing aircraft as an aid to flying parallel flight lines for block aerial vertical photography. Two cases were examined: (I) the pilot controlled the heading of the aircraft according to the indications on the course deviation indicator of the GPS receiver; (2) the autopilot, being connected to the GPS receiver, controlled the heading of the aircraft. The results obtained for both sidelap and endlap were equal to or superior to those obtained with a CCTV system. 〈section xml:id="abs1-2"〉〈title type="main"〉RésuméOn a mené une recherche sur la faisabilité du GPS comme aide au maintien du parallélisme des axes de prises de vues d'un bloc de photographies aériennes verticales, en utilisant un récepteur GPS bon marché fié a un avion léger. On a examiné deux cas: (i) celui ou le pilote a maintenu le cap de l'avion en suivant les indications de l'index de changement de route du récepteur GPS; (ii) celui ou c'est le pilote automatique qui, par une liaison au récepteur GPS, a maintenu le cap de l'uvion. Les résultats obtenus pour le recouvrement latéral et l'extrgmité des bandes se sont révélés égaux ou supérieurs ii ceux obtenus avec un systPme CCTV.〈section xml:id="abs1-3"〉〈title type="main"〉ZusammenfassungEs wurde eine Untersuchung über die mögliche Nutzung billiger GPS-Empfanger, die in ein Kleinjlugzeug als Hilfsmittel zum Flug paralleler Bildstreifen für die blockweise Luftbildaufnahme eingebaut wurden, durchgefuhrt. Dabei wurden 2 Falle geprüft: (1) Der Pilot steuerte das Flugzeug entsprechend der Anzeige auf dem Kursindikator des GPS-Empfangers. (2) Der mit dem GPS-Empfänger verbundene Autopilot steuerte das Flugzeug. Die Ergebnisse sowohl für Querals auch Längsüberdeckung waren gleich oder besser als die mit einem CCTV-System erhaltenen.

Notes: The authors provide an account of current Directorate of Military Survey approaches to the provision of photocontrol by use of GPS and they pay special attention to the requirements of height control. 〈section xml:id="abs1-2"〉〈title type="main"〉SummaryGPS now provides us with a rapid method for determining plan and height for photogrammetric control directly over the points required by the photogrammetrist. By utilizing the slope of the geoid model, orthometric heights can be obtained to an accuracy of 0.15 m to 0.2 m. Surveys can be carried out quickly in all weather conditions and with none of the traditional terrestrial survey skills. Time, cost and manpower are greatly reduced. The plan accuracies are well within any requirements of the photogrammetrist and heights can be achieved to within 0.15 m to 0.2 m on test areas of UK. As photogrammetric height accuracy requires at best 1 m for plotting a 10 metre contour interval, heighting by GPS and the use of a geoid model solves the heighting problem.〈section xml:id="abs1-3"〉〈title type="main"〉Résumé Les auteurs fournissent un compte-rendu de la façon dont le Directorate of Military Survey aborde actuellement le problème de la fourniture de points ďappui photos avec ľemploi du GPS et prêterit une attention particulière à celui des points ďappui altimétriques.〈section xml:id="abs1-4"〉〈title type="main"〉Zusammenfassung Die Autoren geben einen Bericht über die gegenwärtigen Versuche beim Directorate of Military Survey zur Paβpunktbestimmung mit GPS, wobei sie den Anforderungen an die Höhenbestimmung besondere Aufmerksamkeit zollen.

Notes: The operational situation of precise airborne GPS positioning of camera air stations and its use in combined block adjustment for aerial triangulation is reviewed. The acceptance of systematic GPS errors, which occur especially with biased phase ambiguity solutions after loss of lock of signals in-flight, has motivated the method of additional linear GPS drift parameters which are to be solved in the combined block adjustment. It also implies that no absolute GPS co-ordinates are required and that the datum transformation is provided via a few ground control points. A great number of practical examples demonstrates that the method has been successfully applied within a wide range of photoscales and of block sizes. It has proved to be fully operational under various practical conditions. The high accuracy performance of GPS blocks and the economic benefit have been confirmed. It is particularly noticeable that the stationary receiver can be at a great distance, up to 500 km or more from the mission area. The conclusion is drawn that GPS supported aerial triangulation is ready to become standard. The potential improvement from dual frequency receivers and fast ambiguity solutions only enhances that conclusion. 〈section xml:id="abs1-2"〉〈title type="main"〉Résumé On examine, dans cet article, le degréďopérationnalité atteint par le GPS aéroporté dans le positionnement précis des sommets de prises de vues des caméras aériennes, et son insertion dans la compensation par blocs en aérotriangulation. La possibilityéďerreurs systématiques dans le GPS, en particulier en cas de perte des signaux en vol, qui se manifeste par des ambiguïtés de phase et des biais dans les résultats, à conduit a introduire dans la compensation en bloc des inconnues supplémental s, traduisant une dérive linéaire du GPS. II en résulte qu'il n'est pas nécessaire de disposer de coordonnées GPS absolues et que quelques points ďappui sur le terrain suffisent à assurer les changements de coordonnées. On a utilisé avec succès cette méthode dans de nombreux essaispratiques comportant un large eventail ďéchelles de prises de vues et de tallies des blocs. On a pu ainsi mettre en évidence ľentière opérationnalité de cette méthode, dans des conditions réelles différentes. On a également confirmé la haute précision des résultats des blocs GPS et les avantages économiques de ce système. En particulier, il est tout à fait remarquable que le récepteur fixe puisse se trouver à une grande distance de la zone du lasé, 500 km ou plus. On peut en conclure que ľaérotriangulation appuyée sur le GPS est en train de devenir une méthode standard. Les améliorations possibles que peuvent apporter les récepteurs à deux fréquences et la résolution rapide des ambiguïtés, ne font que renforcer cette conclusion. 〈section xml:id="abs1-3"〉〈title type="main"〉Zusammenfassung Die hochgenaue Kamera Positionierung durch GPS und ihre Anwendung für die Aerotriangulation wird zusammengefaβt dargestellt. Die Existenz systematischer GPS Fehler, wie sie inbesondere durch nur genäherte Phasen-Mehrdeutigkeitslösungen nach Signalabrissen im Flug verursacht werden, haben zu der speziellen Methode zusätzlicher linearer GPS Drift Parameter geführt, die in der kombinierten Blockausgleichung bestimmt werden. Ferner wird dabei die Datumtransformation mit Hilfe einiger weniger Paβpunkte bestimmt, d.h. es werden keine absoluten GPS Koordinaten vorausgesetzt. Mit einer groβen Zahl praktischer Beispiele wird demonstriert, daβ die Methode in einem groβen Bereich von Bildmaβstäben und Blockgröβen bereits erfolgreich angewendet wird. Sie hat sich unter den verschiedensten praktischen Bedingungen als voll operationell erwiesen. Dabei wurde die theoretisch erwartete hohe Genauigkeit der GPS Blöcke und ihre Wirtschaftlichkeit bestätigt. Besonders bedeutsam ist der empirische Nachweis, daβ der stationäre GPS Empfänger sehr weit, bis 500 km oder mehr, von dem Fluggebiet entfernt sein kann. Als Ergebnis wird empfohlen, die GPS gestützte Aerotriangulation als verfügbares photogrammetrisches Standardverfahren allgemein zu verwenden. Diese Schluβfolgerung wird durch die neuesten Entwicklungen von Zwei-Frequenz Empfängern und schnellen Mehrdeutigkeitslösungen, in die hohe Erwartungen gesetzt werden, nur noch bekräftigt.

Notes: A description is given of a heighting accuracy test carried out at Cartographical Services Limited on 1:2000 scale aerial photography. Premarked points, with ground surveyed heights, were established on a dual carriageway road near Worcester and photography was flown using a Leica RC20 aerial camera with EMC. Photogrammetric height measurement was carried out with both a Zeiss P3 analytical plotter and a Cartographic Engineering Limited/Carto Instruments AP190 plotter; respective r.m.s.e. accuracies of ± 25 mm and ± 30 mm were obtained. The new Cartographic Engineering Limited CP2 analytical plotter has subsequently been used for height measurement on similar photography and comparable accuracy has been achieved. 〈section xml:id="abs1-2"〉〈title type="main"〉Résumé On présente un essai de précision altimétrique, effectué par la Société“Cartographical Services” de Southampton, sur des photographies aérienne àľéchelledu 1:2000. On a utilisé des points pré-balisés, repartis sur une route à double voie près de Worcester, et dont ľaltitude a été déterminé sur le terrain. La prise de vue a été fait avec une caméra Leica RC20 munie ďun système de compensation du filé longitudinal. On a effectué les déterminations photogrammétriques des altitudes en utilisant à la fois un restituteur analytique Zeiss P3 et une restituteur AP190 de la Société“Cartographic Engineering/Carto Instruments.” On a obtenu comme erreurs moyennes quadratique les valeurs de ± 25 mm et ± 30 mm respectivement. On a enfin utilisé le noveau restituteur analytique CP2 de la Société“Cartographic Engineering” pour ces déterminations altimétriques et ľon a obtenu une précision comparable. 〈section xml:id="abs1-3"〉〈title type="main"〉Zusammenfassung Es wird ein Versuch zur Bestimmung der Höhengenauigkeit, der beim Cartographical Services Ltd. in Southampton für den Bildmaβstab 1:2000 durchgeführt wurde beschrieben. Signalisierte Punkte, deren Höhen im Gelände bestimmt wurden, wurden aufeiner Doppelfahrbahn in der Nähe von Worcester angeordnet undmit einerLeica RC20 mit EMC aufgenommen. Die photogrammetrische Höhenbestimmung erfolgte mit einem analytischen Auswertegerät P3 von Zeiss und einem AP 190 Plotter von Cartographic Engineering Ltd./Carto Instruments. Dabei wurden mittlere Fehler von ± 25 mm bzw. ± 30 mm erhalten. Das neue analytische Auswertegerät CP 2 von Cartographic Engineering Ltd. wurde danach für Höhenmessungen bei ähnlichen Luftbildern genutzt, wobei vergleichbare Genauigkeiten erreicht wurden.

Notes: This paper describes a method for modelling the SPOT satellite imaging process using a single Ground Control Point (GCP) and for extracting ground planimetric information. Satellite position is derived using the collinearity condition equations. Initial orbit is obtained from the given ephemeris data and refinement is carried out using an iterative least squares solution. Attitude variations are taken into account by fitting a third order polynomial in time to the attitudes derived from the ephemeris by integration. After refining the satellite position, planimetric co-ordinates can be derived using the collinearity equations with an accuracy of up to 38 m in latitude and 52 m in longitude (average of the r.m.s. errors from two tests) when the GCP used for modelling is obtained from the 1:50 000 scale map. These figures include the measurement errors as well as the modelling error. It has been found that the method is not sensitive to the location of the GCP used for modelling. Résumé On présente dans cet article une méthode de modélisation du traitement des images du satellite SPOT ne faisant appel qu'à un seul point ďappui au sol et permettant ďextraire des informations planimétriques. On obtient la position du satellite à partir des équations traduisant la condition de colinéarité. On part ďune orbite initiale issue des données fournies par les éphémerides, et on ľameliore par une résolution itèrative, basée sur les moindres carrés. On tient compte des variations ďattitude par ľintermédiaire ďun polynome du troisième ordre fonction du temps et correspondant aux attitudes dérivées des éphémérides par intégration. Une fois obtenue la position définitive du satellite, on peut tirer les coordonnees planimétriques des équations de colinéarité avec une précision qui atteint 38 m en latitude et 52 m en longitude (valeurs moyennes des erreurs moyennes quadratiques rèsultant de deux essais), lorsque le point ďappui au sol utilisé dans la modélisation provident de la carte au 1:50 000. Ces chiffres incluent les erreurs de mesure ainsi que ľerreur de modélisation. On a trouvé que la méthode nétait pas du tout sensible à la position qu'occupait le point ďappui au sol utilisé dans le modélisation. 〈section xml:id="abs1-2"〉〈title type="main"〉Zusammenfassung Im Artikel wird ein Verfahren zur Geländemodellierung des SPOT-Abbildungsprozesses unter Verwendung eines einzelnen Geländepaβpunktes (GCP) und zur Ableitung planimetrischer Informational beschrieben. Die Satellitenposition wird mit Hilfe der Kollinearitätsgleichungen beschrieben. Die Näherungswerte für die Bahnkurve werden aus gegebenen Ephemeriden bestimmt, die durch einen iterativen Prozeβ nach der Methode der kleinsten Quadrate verbessert werden. Veränderungen der Bahn werden rechtzeitig durch Anpassung mit einem Polynom 3. Grades an die aus den Ephemeriden abgeleitete Bahn durch Integration angepaβt. Nach Verbesserung der Satelliten-position können die Lagekoordinaten mit Hilfe der Kollinearitätsgleichungen mit einer Genauigkeit bis zu 38 m in der Breite und 52 m in der Länge (Mittelwert der mittleren Fehler aus 2 Versuchen) bestimmt werden, wenn der Paβpunkt (GCP) aus einer Karte 1:50 000 entnommen wurde. Dabei ist der Meβfehler ebenso wie der Modellierungsfehler enthalten. Es zeigte sich, daβ das Verfahren nicht empfindlich ist in bezug aufdie Lage des zur Modellierung benutzten Paβpunktes.

Notes: Review of Smeeding, T., O'Higgins, M., and Rainwater, L. (Ed.), Poverty, Inequality and Income Distribution in Comparative PerspectiveBorooah, V. K., McGregor, P. P. L., and McKee, P. M., Regional Income Inequality und Poverty in the United Kingdom

Notes: This paper is concerned with the growing earnings dispersion among British men. The study is based on unit record data drawn from the New Earnings Survey. It is found that increases in inequality within age groups account for most of the rise in earnings inequality overall. Occupation too is a significant explanation of growing inequality among workers, but the major part of increased inequality within age groups remains unexplained.

Notes: We construct quarterly aggregate gross and net capital stock series for the post-war U.S. economy using annual capital stock, capital depreciation, and capital discard figures along with quarterly investment series. We construct nominal and real measures of all three categories in the aggregate capital stock: consumer durable goods, producer durable goods, and business structures. In constructing the nominal series we take into account the changes in capital goods' prices. The series are constructed using four different methods. Using time- and frequency-domain techniques, we compare the constructed series and characterize their short-run, business cycle, and long-run cyclical properties. We find that the constructed series exhibit very different cyclical and shock persistence dynamics. Practial implications are discussed.

Notes: This article presents an historical Social Accounting Matrix (1938) for the Netherlands, including related, non-monetary tables on demographic characteristics, employment, etc.

Notes: Zakat is an important form of religiously-mandated charity under Islam. This paper examines its impact on income inequality in Pakistan. Data from 1987–88 are used to construct two income distributions-one that would have obtained if zakat had not been given, and one that did obtain when such giving took place. Atkinson-Kolm-Sen relative indices of income inequality are computed which show that zakat does reduce measured income inequality in Pakistan. Both intra-province and inter-province components of over-all inequality decline, though the amount of change is small.〈blockFixed type="quotation"〉So give to the kinsman his due, and to the needy, and to the wayfarer. That b best for those who seek Allah's countenance.The Koran

Notes: In order to improve on the income growth rate as an indicator of changes in well-being, four composite indices of growth and income distribution are introduced and compared. When applied to the United

Notes: This article proposes a new method to compute the real value-added of industries which would substitute for the traditional double deflation method. The new method consists of deflating industries' direct and indirect contributions to final demand deliveries (their value-added by commodity) by the respective final demand commodity prices. The article shows that the new industry real value-added measures have better statistical and analytical properties than those obtained by the double deflation method.

Notes: Using the 1983 and 1989 Surveys of Consumer Finances, I find evidence of sharply increasing house-hold wealth inequality over this period. Whereas mean wealth increased by 23 percent in real terms, median wealth grew by only 8 percent. The share of the top one-half percentile rose by five percentage points, while the wealth of the bottom two quintiles showed an absolute decline. The Gini coefficient increased from 0.80 to 0.84. Almost all the growth in real wealth accrued to the top 20 percent of wealthholders. In contrast, the degree of wealth inequality was almost identical in 1983 as in 1962, and real wealth growth was more evenly distributed across the wealth distribution. There is also evidence that the sharp increase in wealth inequality from 1983 to 1989 was due to a correspondingly sharp rise in income inequality, the increase of stock prices relative to housing prices, and relatively slow inflation.

Notes: Using 1989 household survey data, we investigate large differences in poverty measured with a conventional all-Union per capita income line between Uzbekistan, the largest Central Asian republic of the former U.S.S.R., and Ukraine as an example of a European republic. We show that (i) differences between the two countries in the distribution of household size is not the main explanation, (ii) undervaluation of agricultural income in kind understates the welfare of rural households, something of particular importance in Uzbekistan, and (iii) indicators of food consumption provide important additional information. Lessons are drawn for the measurement of poverty in post-Union Uzbekistan.

Notes: Review of Zoltan Kenessey (Ed.), The Accounts of Nations

Notes: A household production function is developed which allows for persons to be engaged in more than one activity at a point in time. Labour inputs are scaled back when two activities are being undertaken. Data from the 1987 Australian Time Use Survey is used to estimate equations explaining input hours into home production by adult members of the household. One implication of the empirical results is that when two activities are being undertaken simultaneously input hours on the activity coded as “primary” and the input hours on the activity coded as “secondary” should each have a weight of one-half.

Notes: A Review of O. Blanchard, R. Dornbusch, P. Krugman, R. Layard and L. Summers, Reform in Eastern EuropeG. Sinn and H.-W. Sinn, Jumpstart: The Economic UniJication of GermanyJ. M. Kovács and M. Tardos (Ed.), Reform and Transformation in Eastern Europe: Soviet-type Economics on the Threshold of ChangeR. Layard, 0. Blanchard, R. Dornbusch and P. Krugman, East-West Migration: The Alternatives

Notes: This paper uses unit record survey data to implement a 1977 United Nations recommendation that imputed rent from owner-occupied housing be included in household income in statistics collected for income distribution purposes. The conceptual difficulties associated with employing the recommended National Accounts approach are highlighted by a comparison of the methodologies used to impute housing income for National Accounts purposes, for use in income distribution analyses and for income taxation purposes. The empirical difficulties associated with implementing the preferred approach are also discussed. The results reinforce the significant impact owner-occupation has on the well-being of many households and point to the importance of a disaggregate analysis of its distributional impact.

Notes: Two hundred sixty-three of the largest Australian fortunes are classified by date and industry of origination. More began in property development, sheep ranching and clothing manufacturing than in other industries. First generation immigrants own more than twice the number of fortunes as would be expected on the basis of their proportion of the population. A panel of experts judged that three-quarters of the fortunes originated in competitive industries. One explanation for large fortunes accumulating in competitive industries is extraordinary returns to disequilibrium (innovation and product differentiation). Other explanations include the assumption of risk and the return to scarce entrepreneurial and managerial skills. Progress in communication and transport technology have made it possible to leverage modest Ricardian rents into large profits via chain operations.

Notes: Economic growth had less impact on poverty rates in the 1980s than in the 1960s. Could this be explained by Locke Anderson's observation that the higher median income, the greater the amount of growth needed to achieve a percentage point fall in the poverty rate? No, higher poverty rates are due instead to the rise in income inequality. With higher inequality, however, trickle down could be as effective in the 1990s as it was in the late 1960s. More generally, assessments of anti-poverty policy must recognize that inequality is as vital to changes in the poverty rate as growth in mean income.

Notes: This research uses microdata from the 1986 Statistics Canada Family Expenditure Survey and from the 1986–88 U.S. Consumer Expenditure Survey to estimate equivalence scales using a methodology which is very similar to that employed by Statistics Canada for the estimation of Low-Income Cutoffs. Employing identical sample selection criteria and identically specified models, we find that equivalence scales for the two countries are not, in general, statistically different when estimated in the same way. The larger issue is then whether the two countries should choose the same methodology for the estimation of equivalence scales.

Notes: This paper studies immobility in the distribution of income using Swedish data. Tax data shows immobility in personal income to be a decreasing function of the length of the period over which it is studied and an increasing function of initial age. The results show immobility to be larger among males than among females. Based on a household income survey it is found that when the time period expands from one to two years, the Gini-coefficient of equivalent income per person decreases by five percent. A sample of males indicates that income immobility between generations in Sweden is low.

Notes: National accounts aggregates are not only abused as welfare indicators, there is also a considerable misuse in economic analysis and in modeling. Characteristics of national accounts-such as consistency, homogeneity and comprehensiveness-may turn into major disadvantages in the case of improper use. The main sources of misuse are the confusion of concepts, inadequate statistical units, the role of aggregation and what might be called “modeling on the basis of the results of modeling.” A plea is made for different data sets for different analytical purposes, for separate treatment of descriptive data, analytical data and modeling results, correct labeling and for a more open information strategy.

Notes: This paper presents a detailed bilateral comparison of GDP between China and the U.S. with 1986 as a reference date, using the purchasing power parity (PPP) approach formulated by the United Nations International Comparison Program (ICP). An estimate of PPP over GDP made for Chinese currency in this study was used t o estimate China's dollar per capita GDP in 1986 and 1991. The specific issues in the comparisons of the housing and the comparison-resistant services categories were discussed and an approach similar to the estimation of shadow rent was exercised. The possible errors in the bilateral comparison were analyzed.

Notes: Constant price calculation of service production is a problematic issue in contemporary national accounts, and it is far more so in historical series. The indicator method has been suggested as one way of coming to terms with volume calculations. This method is scrutinized, and it is claimed that it does not represent the solution for historical matters. Instead, various techniques have to be used for various parts of the total. The methods of deflating service production in five countries' historical national accounts as well as the consequences of using different methods are compared. Most often, existing series are not compatible with those for goods production, which of course has repercussions on attempts to study e.g. productivity. It is concluded that much work has to be done to improve the methodology and to arrive at a common international framework for historical national accounts.

Notes: This paper compares the automatic dissaving of annuity wealth with the discretionary dissaving of marketable wealth that would result from life-cycle consumption behavior by retired persons. In simulations of a life-cycle model based on the isoelastic utility function and realistic parameter values, we find that marketable wealth normally would be dissaved more rapidly than annuity wealth. This suggests that empirical findings that show the opposite relation-slow dissaving of marketable wealth being accompanied by faster dissaving of annuity wealth (or total wealth)-should not be interpreted as evidence that supports the life-cycle theory.

Notes: Among the priorities of the Romanian strategy in the statistics field, the introduction of the National Accounts System is known as an important instrument for the experience of Romanian specialists in calculating some aggregated indicators of the National Accounts System since 1975 created the conditions to elaborate the national accounts.The 1990 Romanian Yearbook contains for the first time figures concerning Gross Domestic Product between 1980 and 1989, detailed by branches, incomes and expenses and also by aggregated input-output figures. By taking advantage of the technical assistance and support of French specialists in the National Accounts field, Romania made the first steps in elaborating the National Accounts System.Thus, methodological studies about the institutional sectors in the Romanian economy, the description of the operations in accounts adapted to our particularities, and specific aspects in the elaboration of input-output tables are now underway. The recorded progress, as well as the programs for the coming years and the technical assistance granted by EEC and by other countries assure us that by assiduous efforts we shall be able to build a statistics system which will satisfy the domestic requirements, concepts and methods used at the international level.MOTTO: “Transition to the market economy may be imagined as a vehicle which requires a powerful engine for functioning. For statistics this means the national accounts.”

Notes: This paper presents a national accounting framework that is tailored to a description of the role of Research and Development (R&D) in the national economy. The main differences from the standard national accounts are some changes in basic concepts and the introduction of additional, more detailed, classifications. The framework facilitates drawing macro-economic conclusions from all kinds of data on R&D. Figures presented in this way can serve as a data base for modelling the role of R&D in the national economy.

Notes: A Review of Anthony B. Atkinson and John Micklewright, Economic Transformation in Eastern Europe and the Distribution of Income

Notes: Among the many interpretations of real national income are (i) the return to national wealth and (ii) the Hamiltonian of an appropriately-chosen dynamic model of the economy. These interpretations are sometimes alleged to be equivalent and to constitute the self-evidently ideal definition to which statistics of real national income should conform as closely as possible., The allegation is correct on some very restrictive assumptions about technology and taste. Otherwise, these interpretations are inconsistent, inexpedient as definitions of real national income and significantly at variance with the usage in the national accounts. The return to wealth is unmeasurable with the currently-available data. The Hamiltonian is typically in the wrong units. It is an accurate reflection of neither productive capacity nor welfare in an intertemporal context. It is not well-defined in a tax-distorted economy. It is rarely an indicator of the return to wealth.〈blockFixed type="quotation"〉A personn's income is “the maximum value he can consume during a week and still be as well off at the end of the week as he was at the beginning”J. R. Hicks2〈blockFixed type="quotation"〉“…the rigorous search for a meaningful income concept leads to a rejection of all current income concepts and ends up with something closer to a “wealth-like magnitude,” such as the present discounted value of future consumption. …a standard welfare interpretation of NNP is that it is the largest permanently maintainable value of consumption. …What we have been calling net national product is just the Hamiltonian for a general optimization problem.”Martin L. weitman3

Notes: We assess the developing world's progress in reducing poverty during the late 1980s using new data on the distribution of household consumption or income per person for 44 countries. Local currencies are adjusted to purchasing power parity. To assess robustness, restricted dominance tests are applied to the poverty comparisons. An overall decrease in poverty incidence is indicated over a wide range of poverty lines and measures. However the change is small, and numbers of poor increased at roughly the rate of population growth. The experience was diverse across regions and countries; poverty fell in South and East Asia, while it rose in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Notes: The purpose of this paper is to explore a number of measures of inequality within households. We focus primarily on two types of inequality, first, inequality in money incomes, second, inequality in control over household resources. Control is measured in two ways: first, as control over the management of household finances and, second, as influence over household decision-making. We discuss arguments for and against each of the measures of inequality, and compare the measures against one another in terms of the level of inequality each measure finds. The paper does not attempt to explain inequality; instead, its aim is to discuss the question “What is it that we wish to explain?”〈blockFixed type="quotation"〉 Perhaps less important, but also revealing, within the 21–34 age group, 90 percent of the males and 80 percent of the females felt that the other partner had more closet space. (“Poll suggests young marriages in big trouble.” The Ottawa Citizen, August 19, 1990.)

Notes: A complete view of inequality should encompass not only measures of distance between hierarchical ranks, but also measures of the extent of individual movement across ranks (mobility). Evidence from the NLSY indicates that relative earnings mobility was pervasive among young workers in the 1980s; possibly even higher than in the 1960s. Gender and race differences are apparent, however.

Notes: This is the text of the IFS Annual Lecture 1994 delivered at the Chartered Accountants’ Hall, London on 1 June 1994.