ALBERT

Notizen: The attitudes and policy orientations of the West German unions to the development and utilisation of new technologies have changed substantially over the past three decades. Contemporary union policies are more critical and more politically oriented: the changes which they seek, to more successfully influence technological developments, have potentially crucial significance for the future character and stability of the West German industrial relations system.

Notizen: This article examines the debate about whether new technology creates or displaces jobs. It emphasises the occupational dimension, in order to assess some of the policies relating to education, training and income distribution. Finally, the role of technological change is examined in terms of the quality of the resulting job structure and the issue of income and skill polarization.

Notizen: In the past the NGA dominated the communications world of paper and ink. This domination is being undermined by the micro-processor revolution which is creating an alternative communications world based on electronic devices and in which the NGA presently has little influence. Here the author analyses the strategies and policies adopted by the NGA to retain its influence in the ‘shrinking’communications world of paper and to gain some influence in the new communications.

Notizen: This article is based on a survey of manufacturing sites, and the relation between production innovation and skills provision strategies encountered therein. It discusses the ways in which trends towards process integration and product flexibility are encouraging moves away from the traditional dependence on ‘off-the-shelf’skills recruitment and towards a greater emphasis on training, often of a flexible and cross-disciplinary type.

Notizen: The first issue of NTWE featured a piece on work organisation at the Swedish Mail Centre at Tomteboda. In the light of a recent visit there, the author responds to that original account.

Notizen: Industrialised nations have responded to the recent impact of new technology either by planning within a corporatist framework, or by reacting to changes determined by ‘market forces’. Australia is moving from the second to the first strategy because of a combination of political and legal changes, building upon traditional institutions

Notizen: Book review in this ArticleTechnology and the Human ProspectMachinery of Dominance, Women, Knowledge and Technical Know-howComputer Chips and Paper Clips, Volume 1Gender and the Labour ProcessTowards the Automatic Factory? The Need for TrainingManaging New TechnologyThe Silicon Society

Notizen: Although trade unions have generally agreed TUC policy on new technology, they found it difficult to follow policy and make acceptance conditional. Economic circumstances, employer strategies and the structure of trade unions and collective bargaining, constrain the realisation of policy objectives. But there are also weaknesses in the policies themselves and the resources trade unions dedicate to new technology.

Notizen: This article challenges the widespread concept of a ‘technological imperative’which is alleged to lead to greater economic efficiency. The socio-technical model, supported by evidence from past research and recent cases, undermines the validity of the ‘imperative’and presents an alternative based on choices.

Notizen: Comparing a British with an American Flexible Manufacturing System highlights both differences in de facto and formal work organisation and the separate influence of overall management policies. Contrary to prevailing theories it is the practical resolution of these policies that either stifles or permits polyvalent, ‘autonomous’work-groups.

Notizen: The introduction of new technologies combined with demanning policies has brought about a greater awareness of the importance of the collective dimensions of work. Research work, in France, has been investigating the notions of ‘work groups’* and ‘collective/group skills’. These are key issues concerned with the mastering of new technologies, and the creation of ‘new forms’of work organization, such as quality circles.

Notizen: This article presents a detailed case study of changes in the job tasks of British Rail yard supervisors under the routine operation of a computerised system of freight information control in order to critically evaluate the claim that computer technology is contributing to the demise of first-line supervisors.

Notizen: Book review in this ArticleSunrise EuropeNEDC Long-term perspectives group, IT Futures: What current forecasting literature says about the social impact of information technologyHuman Factors: Man, Machine and New TechnologyWorking the System: The Shop Floor and New Technology

Notizen: This article identifies the avenues used by UK firms to acquire the work skills needed to operate the new technologies. Having found that retraining is the most popular avenue, the author turns to issues such as who identified the retraining needs, how they were met and with what degree of success. In the process, disturbing tendencies are discovered.

Notizen: As technological change was a main item at the IIRA World Congress the author was invited to write a short report on it for NTWE

Notizen: The central issue in this paper is the effect of alternative property rights on the flow of innovation. The basis for this issue arises from the fact that people prefera wider range of choices to a narrow one. The analysis is broken down into: the freedom to innovate, the power to innovate, the incentives to innovate, the implementation of innovation, and the evaluation of innovation. The line of reasoning in the paper is exampled by reference to the Yugoslav economy. The paper concludes that an essential problem of economic development is the freedom to search for and adopt a set of social institutions within which opportunities and incentives for innovation are enhanced. Specifically, labor participation in management collectivizes innovation, a purely individual phenomenon, and alienates the innovator from its outcome. In comparison with a private-property, free-market economy, self-management reduces the number of potential innovators, their power to innovate, and incentives to innovate.

Notizen: In periods of demographic change, pay-as-you-go financed social security systems imply transfers of lifetime income not only among generational cohorts, but also between families of different size and generational composition. Whereas previous models of voting on social security in democratic societies focused on the first type of transfer and assumed homogeneity of interests within each generation, we treat the family as the relevant decision-making unit. It is then analyzed how the results of majority voting on public pension and sickness funds depend on the rate of time preference, the overall rate of population growth and the distribution of children across families. Not surprisingly, opposition to mandatory social security turns out to be greatest when children are most unevenly distributed.

Notizen: Der Beitrag untersucht die Bedeutung von Ansätzen der Neuen Politischen Ökonomie für die Erklärung der Protektion in Industrien der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Nach einer Darstellung der theoretischen Grundüberlegungen folgt ein kurzer Überblick über empirische Untersuchungen zu Bestimmungsgründen der Protektion in der Bundesrepublik. In einer ökonometrischen Untersuchung werden dann Modelle geschätzt und getestet, die als endogene Variable das Niveau der Gesamtprotektion einer Branche und als exogene Variablen eine Reihe von Grössen, die in Modellen der Neuen Politischen Ökonomie für relevant erachtet werden, enthalten. Wichtige Ergebnisse sind: Ein mit den theoretischen Überlegungen übereinstimmendes und statistisch signifikantes Vorzeichen ergab sich für den Konzentrationsgrad (positiv), den Wertschöpfungsanteil am Output (negativ) und den Importdruck aus Entwicklungsländern (positiv). Entgegen einer früheren Untersuchung für die Bundesrepublik ist jedoch die Richtung des Einflusses der Anzahl der Firmen und der Beschäftigten statistisch nicht gesichert und umgekehrt wie in den theoretischen Modellen abgeleitet.

Notizen: In this paper, it is argued that average tax rates exert an influence on income tax evasion separate from, and opposite to that of marginal tax rates. Failure to account for this effect in empirical evasion models biases the parameter estimate of the marginal rate in a predictable manner. Evidence from an aggregate empirical model of evasion in the US indicates that the marginal tax rate is positively related to evasion, whereas the average tax rate is negatively related. Further, exclusion of the average rate from the model does in fact bias the parameter estimate of the marginal tax rate.

Notizen: Modern economics has expanded beyond treating economic institutions as exogenous. This paper applies public choice and modern regulatory theory to the twentiethcentury Roman Catholic Church and attempts to discover why the decision was made in 1966 to absolve Catholics from the requirement that meat not be eaten on most Fridays of the year. We provide a cartel analysis of the institutional backdrop and power structure of the College of Cardinals within the Church. In this framework, self-interest, the geographic production of beef and fish, and the expanded number of voters in the College of Cardinals are the keys to understanding why Pope PAUL VI decided to change the relative price of meat and to alter penance rules in 1966.

Notizen: The analysis of general risk-sharing systems shows that profit-sharing represents a special case of the more general systems. General risk-sharing systems are more efficient than profit-sharing systems in that they permit contracting parties to exclude or treat differently certain types of risk, especially those which are endogenous to the firm and its management and therefore subject to moral hazard. Most important, general risk-sharing systems make it possible to exclude the returns from entrepreneurial risk-taking from share arrangements with workers. This feature makes general risk-taking consistent with the efficient operation of dynamic SCHUMPETERian market economies. Risk-sharing systems can also be used to increase the efficiency of contracts between parties other than employers and employees and they are most likely to raise welfare when one of the contracting parties is the government.

Notizen: We use spectral analysis to provide evidence that cycles have characterized the following time series: all terrorist events, skyjackings, kidnappings, barricade and hostage-taking, and all events not involving hostages. The series for all events had a periodicity of 28 months, while skyjackings had two significant periodicities - 4.1 months and 28 months. Only a single significant periodicity was associated with barricade and hostage events and kidnappings -72 months and 48 months, respectively. We also found that nonlinear trends best represented four of the five series. Cross-spectral analysis was then applied to the six possible pairs of series; each pair displays from three to nine statistically significant coherencies. Moreover, we discovered evidence of orthogonality for five of the six pairs studied. This evidence suggests that terrorists substitute between related events; this substitution primarily showed up in the short run.

Notizen: The paper analyzes risk allocation in large-scale resource ventures. High set-up costs, a long gestation period of ten years and more and a high financial risk are characteristics for large-scale resource ventures. Financial risk is the result of economic risk (price risk, cost risk), technological risk (innovation in extraction, exploration) and political risk (taxation schemes, extraction rights). Large-scale resource ventures represent an interesting case of risk allocation in which many players are involved. Institutional arrangements for risk allocation in large-scale resource ventures are interpreted as a complex net of contractual relationships between different players. The paper analyzes a theoretical framework in which risk allocation is studied. Policies of risk shifting for the individual agent and institutional arrangements for risk shifting in the case of large-scale resource ventures are studied. The net of relations between different players is a check on the strategic behavior arising from idiosyncratic problems and thus reduces contract risk.

Notizen: In this paper we argue that mutual altruism might explain why workers and a firm move from low-productivity adversarial point(s) to high-productivity cooperative point(s). The unique critical level of such altruism is identified and hence a stopping rule is provided: The mutual altruism solution to an otherwise prisoner's dilemma equilibrium depends on representing an agent's (workers, firm) preferences as a specific convex combination of his and the other agent's original utilities. The move to the cooperative point(s) is facilitated by revision of the utility functions and a consequent change in the payoffs. This, in turn, is brought about through intrafirm processes such as furnishing employees with superior compensation packages as well as through an interfirm process - drawing lessons from ‘shocks’ - the experience of firms which, as they were locked in low productivity equilibrium points, were weeded out.

Notizen: The traditional gravity model has often been applied to international trade flows, especially to analyze trade creation and trade diversion. However, there are two fundamental objections to the model: it cannot describe substitutions between flows, and it lacks a cogent theoretical foundation. A newly developed model, the Extended Gravity Model (EGM), overcomes these objections. An empirical test strongly rejects the gravity model in favour of the EGM. The empirical analysis also proves that the gravity model widely overestimates the influence of the determinants of international trade. The EGM encompasses several models originating in regional economics, and can be applied usefully to a variety of subjects.

Notizen: Book reviewed in this ArticleAUBIN, JEAN-PIERRE; SAARI, DONALD and SIGMUND, KARL (eds.): Dynamics of MacrosystemsBECKER, WILLIAM E. and WALSTAD, WILLIAM B. (eds.): Econometric Modeling in Economic Education ResearchBLIEN, UWE: Unternehmensverhalten und ArbeitsmarktstrukturBÖBEL, INGO: Wettbewerb und IndustriesektorBREIT, WLLIAM and SPENCER, ROGER W. (eds.): Lives of the Laureates. Seven Nobel EconomistsCLARKE, ROGER: Industrial EconomicsCORDEN, W. MAX: Protection, Growth and TradeDONALD, DAVID HERBERT: Look Homeward: A Life of Thomas WolfeEASTMAN, BYRON D.: Interpreting Mathematical Economics and EconometricsHANNAN, E. J.: Time Series AnalysisFITZROY, FELIX R. und KRAFT, KORNELIUS (Hrsg.): Mitarbeiterbeteiligung und Mitbestimmung im UnternehmenHALPERIN, MORTON H.: Nuclear Fallacy: Dispelling the Myth of Nuclear StrategyHARCOURT, G. C. and HAMOUDA, C. F. (eds): Controversies in Political EconomyHÖDL, ERICH/MÜLLER, GERNOT (Hrsg.): Die Neoklussik und ihre KritikHOGARTH, ROBIN M, and REDER, MELVIN W. (eds.): Rational Choice: The Contrast between Economics and PsychologyJÄNICKE, MARTIN; SIMONIS, UDO ERNST und WEIGMANN, GERD (Hrsg.): Wissen für die UmweltKIERZKOWSKI, HENRYK (ed.): Monopolistic Competition and International TradeKÖLLNER, LUTZ: Rüstung und EntwicklungSCHMÄHL, WINFRIED et al.: Soziale Sicherung 1975-1985. Verteilungswirkungen sozialpolitischer Massnahmen in der Bundesrepublik DeutschlandSNOWDEN, P. N.: Emerging Risk in International Banking

Notizen: It is shown that there is a positive non-linear relationship between a Latin American borrower country's trade surplus and its service and capital accounts, and therefore the balance of payments. Pooled regressions are used to test quadratic and semi-logarithmic specifications. Most large or medium-size countries either are able to choose between a range of sensible, non-confrontational policy options, or especial characteristics apply to them; thus the scope for a debtors' cartel is very poor. The default rule that recommends debt repudiation if new loans are lower than payments on old ones is found to be misleading.

Notizen: Book reviewed in this ArticleAGARWAL, JAMUNA PRASAD: Pros and Cons of Third World MultinationalsAMBROSIUS, GEROLD und HUBBARD, WILLIAM H.: Sozial- und Wirtschaftsgeschichte Europas im 20. JahrhundertBADHAM, RICHARD J.: Theories of Industrial SocietyBEBERMEYER, HARTMUT: Das Beziehungsfeld Politische Planung und Strategische UnternehmungsplanungBRANDES, WILHELM: Über die Grenzen der Schreibtisch-ÖkonomieBRENNAN, GEOFFREY and BUCHANAN, JAMES M.: The Reason of RulesDEGER, SAADET: Military Expenditure in Third World CountriesGÄLLI, ANTON und ALKAZAZ, AZIZ: Der arabische BankensektorGASSLER, ROBERT SCOTT: The Economics of Nonprofit EnterpriseHALLWOOD, PAUL and MACDONALD, RONALD: International MoneyHAYWARD, JACK: The State and the Market EconomyHUFBAUER, GARY CLYDE and SCHOTT, JEFFREY J.: Economic Sanctions Reconsidered: History and Current PolicyLIESCHKE, LOTHAR H.: Technischer Fortschritt und AussenhandelMICHAELY, MICHAEL: Trade, Income Levels and DependancePFALLER, ALFRED (Hrsg.): Der Kampf um den Wohlstand von MorgenSCHMIDT, CHRISTIAN: La sémantique économique en questionSICHEL, BEATRICE and SICHEL, WERNER: Economics Journals and Serials: An Analytical GuideTEICHGRABER, RICHARD: ‘Free Trade' and Moral Philosophy, Rethinking the Sources of Adam Smith's Wealth of NationsUnited Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO): International Comparative Advantage in ManufacturingWULFF, MANFRED: Theorien und Dogmen als Ursachen wirtschaftspolitischer Probleme, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot 1985. 180 S. DM 68.00.

Notizen: Book reviewed in this ArticleARROW, KENNETH J. and INTRILIGATOR, MICHAEL D. (eds.): Handbook of Mathematical Economics.BARANZINI, MAURO and SCAZZIERI, ROBERTO (eds.): Foundations of Economics.BLASEIO, HELMUTH: Das Kognos-Prinzip.CRAMER, J. S.: Econometric Applications of Maximum Likelihood MethodsFISHER, ROBERT M.: The Logic of Economic Discovery.FURNHAM, ADRIAN and LEWIS, ALAN: The Economic Mind.JACQUEMIN, ALEXIS: Industrieökonomik.KATHURIA, SANJAY and TANEJA, NISHA: The Challenge from ChinaKÖRNER, HEIKO und UHLIG, CHRISTIAN (Hrsg.): Die Zukunft der Globalsteuerung.MARGLIN, STEPHEN A.: Growth, Distribution and Prices.MCCLOSKEY, DONALD N.: The Rhetoric of EconomicsVON MOLTKE, ALBRECHT: Die private Verwendung von ECU.NUTZINGER, HANS G. (Hrsg.): Liberalismus im Kreuzfeuer.Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development: Gestion Publique Rurale/Rural Public ManagementSAMUELSON, LARRY(ed.): Microeconomic TheorySCHELBERT-SYFRIG, HEIDI et al. (Hrsg.): Mikroökonomik des Arbeitsmarktes.SCHELLING, WOMAS C.: Choice and Consequence.SCHMÄHL, WINFRIED (Hrsg.): Versicherungsprinzip und soziale SicherungSOMBART, NICOLAUS: Jugend in Berlin, 1933-1943.VOGT, WINFRIED: Theorie der kapitalistischen und einer laboristischen Ökonomie.

Notizen: Sättigung bedeutet, dass der Grenznutzen des Einkommens abnimmt und die Arbeitsmotivation sinkt. Die beobachtbare Konsequenz von Sättigung müsste also eine Verkürzung der Arbeitszeit bei den vergleichsweise Reicheren sein. Die vorliegende Arbeit zeigt, dass diese Schlussfolgerung falsch ist. Im Gegenteil und scheinbar paradox gilt: Sättigung wird sich eher in Form von höheren Einkommensforderungen, also gewissermassen als Gier äussern. Umgekehrt kann es jenen, die mit der Zufriedenstellung ihrer Mindestansprüche kämpfen, passieren, dass sie bei niedrigeren Lohnsätzen enden, wenn sie ihre Ansprüche reduzieren, um weniger arbeiten zu müssen.

Notizen: This paper is a study of inflation in Portugal during the years 1953-1980, a period marked by political revolution and the start of the country's modern economic development. The analysis is conducted within the context of the monetarist-structuralist debate and employs, as explanatory variables, changes in expected prices, money, permanent income, exchange rates, and a vector of structural factors. Ordinary least squares and first- and second-order autoregressive models, estimated by means of BEACH and MCKINNON'S full maximum likelihood technique, are the empirical methods used to investigate the sources of this inflation. In addition to the usual hypotheses, the question of economies of scale in money-holding and the general equilibrium notion of a direct and proportional relationship between changes in money and prices are tested. The empirical results demonstrate that, despite political upheaval and government intervention in the market, neoclassical theory provides a reliable explanation of inflation in Portugal during the period considered.

Notizen: This article is concerned with the development and empirical application of a behavioural model of government policies. A short discussion of the existing models in this field, such as reaction-function models, voting models, and interest group models, is given. A simple model of government behaviour is presented, using the so called interest function approach. In the model a central role is allocated to the own interests of government sector workers (politicians and bureaucrats). The interests of social groups outside the government organization are taken into account by the government through factors such as mobility (probability of becoming a member of another group) and pressure through political parties or otherwise. This leads to the formulation of what is called a complex interest function for the government which is maximized to determine its behaviour. The model is applied to The Netherlands (1921-1985). A striking outcome is that the numerical strengths of the three social groups that are actively involved in the production process, to wit government and private sector workers, and self-employed, appear to be determinant for the overall tax rate and the relative level of government expenditure.

Notizen: The recognition of the existence of imperfect information in decision-making and the cognitive limitations of the human mind put various assumptions of the neoclassical economic paradigm in doubt. Neoclassical economists responded by arguing that decision rules, or rules of thumb, can be used to render decision without processing information. Further, neoclassicists have suggested that rational rules compete against and drive out irrational ones. This paper focuses on the use of rules of thumb and posits that the empirical evidence about the rationality of these rules is dubious and that they logically cannot serve as a basis for rational conduct.

Notizen: BARRO, ROBERT J.: MakroökonomieBayerische Rückversicherung AG (Hrsg.): Gesellschaft und UnsicherheitBERGSTRÖM, VILLY; HONKAPOHJA, SEPPO and SÖDERSTEN, JAN (eds.): Growth and DistributionBLAUG, MARK: Great Economists before KeynesBOITEUX, M.; DE MONTBRIAL, TH. et MUNIER, B. (eds.): Marchés, Capital et IncertitudeBRAUN, WOLFRAM: Die Organisation ökonomischer AktivitätenCNOSSEN, SIJBREN: Tax Coordination in the European CommunityCOFFEY, PETER: The European Monetary System - Past, Present and FutureFEIWEL, GEORGE R. (ed.): Arrow and the Ascent of Modern Economic TheoryGHOSH, RATNA and ZACHARIAH, MATHEW(eds.): Education and the Process of Social ChangeGLAESER, BERNHARD (ed.): EcodevelopmentHERI, ERWIN W.: Die GeldnachfrageJÄGGI, CHRISTIAN M.: Die Makroökonomik von J. M. KeynesMEADE, JAMES E.: Alternative Systems of Business Organization and of Workers’ RemunerationMINAMI, RYOSHIN: The Economic Development of JapanRAMSER, HANS-JÜRGEN: VerteilungstheorieRAVALLION, MARTIN: Markets and FaminesROLOFF, OTTO und WILD, WERNER: Umweltschutz in öffentlichen BudgetsSARGENT, THOMAS J.: Dynamic Macroeconomic TheorySTAUSS, BERND: Grundlagen des Marketing öffentlicher Unternehmen

Notizen: A new awareness of the major issues in the contemporary philosophy of science is one of the most remarkable features of current debates on economic methodology. Under the prevailing influence of POPPER'S writings, for example, it has been repeatedly maintained that POPPERian falsificationism ought to be regarded as the proper methodological framework for the appraisal of economic theories. More recently, it has also been argued we should see POPPERian fallibilism as the right epistemological perspective for approaching the problem of agents' behaviour in economic theory. This paper suggests that both such perspectives are doomed to failure: the former because of the heuristic nature of most economic theories, the latter for having overlooked the sharp contrast between ‘practical’ and ‘scientific’ rationality which is so typical of POPPERian epistemology. As often the case when methodology is concerned, criticism is easier than the provision of a sound alternative. We suggest, however, that a fallibilist economist and a falsificationist economic man could do economics a much better service than vice versa.

Notizen: This paper compares inflation and unemployment in western market economies with the repressed inflation and persistent shortages common in centrally planned economies. Stagflation and shortageflation, the latter defined as inflation accompanied by shortages, have much in common, and a similar, albeit inverse, theoretical structure is offered. Measures of stagflation for the western economies and development of a conceptual framework for measuring shortageflation for the eastern European socialist countries leads to a new ‘misery index' facilitating comparisons that are not as misleading as comparison only of inflation rates. They suggest that Italy and Poland have the most severe unhappiness index, and West Germany and East Germany have the lowest unhappiness index. Furthermore, where relative prices fail to reflect relative scarcities, then the failure of production to fully respond, and the time and other resources wasted through queuing, gluts, and other allocative inefficiencies can slow growth.

Notizen: There has been much speculation about the future of work in moods ranging from euphoria to prophecies of doom. This article attempts to outline the undercurrents of change which will determine the reality behind this debate. It is based on analyses conducted for Work and Society, The Other Economic Summit and the Society for International Development.

Notizen: Here the authors summarise the responses to new technology by employers, trade unions and governments from an international perspective and they identify the emerging trends on job displacement, workforce adjustment and new skill requirements in Western industrialised countries.

Notizen: This article investigates effects of computerization in the Swedish insurance industry from 1960–1980. While the technological imperative dictates that many jobs would disappear, it was found that employment actually increased. The authors produce a model relating technology to employment levels and suggest that a range of moderating factors must be considered.

Notizen: There is little systematic survey evidence so far on the attitudes and beliefs of those involved with new technology in small batch manufacturing. Here the authors present findings on the responses of management, trade unions and employees in an Advanced Manufacturing Technology (AMT) work environment.

Notizen: ‘High Technology’ firms constitute a significant growth sector in the UK. Such firms are often assumed to be non-union, with a paternalist style of management, providing a striking contrast to traditional industrial relations practices. Here the author assesses the current evidence.

Notizen: This article examines how works councils in the West German automobile industry have influenced management approaches to technological change in three firms. The authors argue that while the post-war industrial relations consensus in Germany can be increasingly questioned, car-makers in the English speaking countries have important lessons to learn from their German counterparts.

Notizen: New technology is increasingly being introduced into local government. Using a case study of a shire local authority, the author argues that information technology has already affected employment levels and has enhanced management efficiency.

Notizen: Book review in this ArticleThe Management Implications of New Information Technology N. Piercy (ed.)High Technology Small Firms — Innovation and Regional Development in Britain and the United States R. OakeyFuture Work James Robertson Maurice Temple SmithTechnology, Work and Industrial Relations Russell D. Lansbury and Edward M. DavisReport of the Committee of Inquiry into Labour Market Programs Australian Government Publishing Service CanberraJapanese Employment and Employee Relations: An Annotated Bibliography Bill Ford, Millicent Easther and Ann Brewer Australian Government Publishing Service, CanberraTechnology and the Workforce: An Annotated Bibliography Bill Ford, Margaret Coffey and Dexter Dunphy Technology Research Unit, New South Wales Ministry of TechnologyTechnological Change: The Tripartite Response, 1982–85 Hedva Sarfati and Margaret CoveWork in the 1980s. Emanicipation and Derogation Bengt Ove Gustavsson, Jan Ch. Karlsson & Curt Räftegård

Notizen: The ‘automated factory’ as the culmination of ingenuity has fascinated engineers and social visionaries (albeit for different reasons) for a considerable period. This article discusses the skill requirements of advanced automated production.

Notizen: This article argues that social scientists need to develop a detailed understanding of ‘technology’, and its relationship to social variables, if the full impfication of new technologjes is to be adequately investigated. Material from research on telephone exchange modemisation in British Telecom is used to develop such an approach.

Notizen: The United States, together with other advanced industrial societies is having to address the skill and training requirements which stem from occupational change as a result of technological innovation. This article examines the major labor questions for policy-makers in the USA now and in the near future.

Notizen: This article discusses the concept of skill and, using material from case studies on non-manual work, suggests that the microelectronic technology may have implications for work and skills that in each case will depend on a combination of social and technological factors.

Notizen: The Australian trade union movement has identified new technology as a major issue for the 1980s and beyond. This article examines ACTU policy on technological change in the light of the experience of two large Australian unions.

Notizen: Draughtsmen could until recently legitimately be seen as a ‘white-collar craft’ group. This article examines the degree to which Computer-Aided Design is fragmenting the cohesiveness of the drawing office, and thus threatening to undermine the craft control which has been the basis of the strength of the union, AUEW/TASS.

Notizen: An understanding of the changes taking place in Singapore's construction industry is not achieved simply by reference to ‘technological imperatives’. Changes in technology, work patterns and employment are closely bound up with the ideological orientations of the ruling elite. This article analyses these changes and examines the implications for the workforce.

Notizen: This paper examines two approaches to the study of the implications of technological change for manpower and skill requirements. One is based on the development of taxonomies to classify different levels of automation of industrial processes. The other is based on the study of the competitive dynamics within industrial sectors.

Notizen: Book reviewed in this article:The Information Technology Revolution Tom Forester, (ed.)Work, Unemployment and the New Technology Colin Gill, Polity PressThe Robotics Revolution Peter B. Scott.Manufacturing Systems: Context, Applications and Techniques Victor Bignell, Mike Dooner, John Hughes, Chris Pym and Sheila StoneJob Redesign: Critical Perspectives on the Labour Process David Knights, Hugh Wilmott and David Collinson

Notizen: In 1983, the Swedish Post Office opened the most technically advanced mail centre in the world. Here the author describes how work is organised in this futuristically designed workplace.

Notizen: We consider mathematics to be an input into the production of human and knowledge capital in economics. The competitive and the interest group models are analyzed as to their predictions about the efficient use of this input. Many stylized facts are found to be consistent with the interest group model and the implication of an excess use of mathematics. Mathematics in journal articles is shown to have grown significantly during the postwar years. In a survey, 250 economists express the view that there is too much mathematics in professional journals. Only a minority of respondents rejects the view that interest group behaviour is taking place.

Notizen: Book reviewed in this ArticleASCHHOFF, GUNTHER und HENNINGSEN, ECKART: Das deutsche GenossenschaftswesenBHATIA, SHAM L.: Technology, Economies of Scale and Gains from Trade and Factor MobilityCANTO, VICTOR A.: The Determinants and Consequences of Trade Restrictions in the US EconomyETTER, CHRISTIAN: Löhne und Beschäftigung im KonjunkturverlaufFREEMAN, CHRISTOPHER (ed.): Long Waves in the World EconomyGORDON-ASHWORTH, FIONA: International Commodity ControlGREENHALGH, C. A.; LAYARD, P. R. G. and OSWALD, A. J. (eds.): The Causes of UnemploymentHECKMAN, JAMES J. and SINGER, BURTON(eds.): Longitudinal Analysis of Labor Market DataJUDGE, GEORGE E. et al: The Theory and Practice of EconometricsKENNEDY, GAVIN: Einladung zur StatistikKIRSCH, WERNER; SCHOLL, WOLFGANG und PAUL, GÜNTER: Mitbestimmung in der UnternehmenspraxisNIESCHLAG, ROBERT; DICHTL, ERWIN und HÖRSCHGEN, HANS: MarketingSCHENKLUHN, BRIGITTE: Konjunkturpolitik und WahlenSCHULTE ZUR SURLAGE, ROLF: Qualifikationsstruktur der ArbeitsnachfrageŠIK, OTA: Ein Wirtschafssystem der ZukunftTAKAYAMA, AKIRA: Mathematical EconomicsUHLIG, CHRISTIAN und LANGE, MICHAEL: Internutionale Produktionskooperation im Vorderen OrientWATERSON, MICHAEL: Economic Theory of the IndustryWELSCH, HEINZ: Wohlfahrtstheorie und Wirtschaftspolitik natürlicher RessourcenWHALLEY JOHN: Trade Liberalization among Major World Trading Areas

Notizen: This note demonstrates that PIERO SRAFFA'S wage-profit frontier can be generalized to take into account the real costs of protecting the environment from waste residuals. As such, it is an exercise in theoretical synthesis which draws upon elements of neo-Ricardian theory and environmental economics.

Notizen: The ‘truth’ in autobiography depends on the observable historical record of a person's life. The less attractive the observed life, the more ‘truthful’ is the autobiography. This result does not require differential standards of honesty among autobiographers. It does depend on the presupposition that there exists a common value scale along which lives may be judged, and upon the common directional bias toward the ‘good’ in all autobiography.

Notizen: People often seem to gain present satisfaction from contemplating a favourable future. This paper examines the implications of such behaviour for expectations formation. Formally, satisfaction is said to be derived from ‘contemplation’ whenever ex post utility depends on expectations independently of their bearing on ex ante actions. Contemplation is shown to be necessary and sufficient for informationally biased forecasting in a model of the intertemporal consumption decision. Thus the MUTH-rationality of expectations requires restrictions on the (derived) preference ordering over expectations and realizations which preclude contemplation. Bias tests of surveyed expectations are given a choice-theoretic interpretation.

Notizen: Instead of a relapse into the depression of the 30's, as the stagnationists had foreseen, the end of the war marked the beginning of a quarter of a century of unprecedented growth. The saturation thesis, based on a misperception of human wants, turned out to be wrong, and with innovations and an opening of markets, the apprehended technological and spatial limits to growth were overcome. However, the extraordinary post-war growth eventually met with supply side bottlenecks: excessive wage increases, higher energy and environmental costs, and an inflation-induced waste of capital led to a relative stagnation in the 70's. The growth poles USA and East Asia have extricated themselves more quickly from this stagnation than Europe which suffers from more rigidities and still lacks sufficient downward flexibility of real wages. To revitalize its economy, Europe has to free its markets from state regulations and make them more accessible to domestic and international competition. With a swift trade liberalization, Europe - and the world - could tap a large source of productivity growth. Admittedly, this would go along with a process of creative destruction. In order to facilitate the import-induced decline of old industries, free activity zones should be established in the affected regions.

Notizen: The article tries to find out whether the political composition of government in twelve Western European countries had any effect on real growth, unemployment and inflation. The method chosen is to combine year after year the countries in ‘Left’, ‘Right’ and (left and right) coalition groups and then to compare the group results over the period 1960-1984. In the period of high growth and full employment political composition plays a minor part. After 1970 the picture changes: the left group (left and left coalition governments) exhibits consistently higher growth and lower unemployment rates than the right group. With regard to inflation the picture is less clear. There is an indication that coalitions have generally fared better than either ‘pure’ left or ‘pure’ right governments.

Notizen: Ideal solutions based on two bargaining models (RAIFFA, NASH) and two moral principles (Utilitarianism, RAWLS'S Difference Principle) are applied to the sharing of the welfare produced in the family between the representative man (M) and representative woman (W). The good produced by the family has a strong element of public good enjoyed by M and W. Two different assumptions are possible regarding the relative efficiency of M and W in producing the public good: (1) The feminist hypothesis: they are equally efficient, (2) The patriarchy hypothesis: men are on the average more dominant than women, and better able to hold upper positions in hierarchies. Hence they are more efficient and are entitled to status. If the feminist hypothesis is correct, M and W should, according to the ethical principles, have equal welfare and should supply equal efforts. However, the bargaining solutions generally adjudge M more welfare than W, mainly because of his higher security level. If one accepts the patriarchy hypothesis, some of the utility which M derives from his status should redound to W's advantage (except under Utilitarianism) so that she is required to supply less effort. Paradoxically, this may mean that M should do more domestic work.

Notizen: The ‘softening’ of the budget constraint appears when the strict relationship between the expenditure and the earnings of an economic unit (firm, household, etc.) has been relaxed, because excess expenditure will be paid by some other institution, typically be the paternalistic State. The higher the subjective probability that excess expenditure will be covered by external assistance, the softer the budget constraint. The main focus of the paper is on the firm. There are several ways of ‘softening’ the budget constraint: subsidies, tax-exemptions, soft credits and so on. The softness weakens price responsiveness, leads to losses in efficiency and under certain conditions may generate excess demand. The paper examines the ‘soft budget constraint’ syndrome in Hungary, Yugoslavia, and China, i.e. in the economies pioneering in the introduction of market-oriented decentralization reforms. Socialist economies exhibit a rather extreme degree of this phenomenon, which to a lesser degree can be observed in mixed economies as well.〈section xml:id="abs1-2"〉〈title type="main"〉ZUSAMMENFASSUNGDie “Aufweichung” der Budgetrestriktionen zeigt sich, wenn der enge Zusammen-hang zwischen den Ausgaben und Einnahmen einer Wirtschaftseinheit (Firma, Haus-halt usw.) sich auflockert, weil die Mehrausgabe von einer anderen Institution, im typischen Falle vom paternalistischen Staat gedeckt wird. Je höher die subjektive Wahrscheinlichkeit ist, dass die Mehrausgabe durch eine aussenstehende Hilfsquelle gedeckt wird, um so weicher ist die Budgetrestriktion. Im Mittelpunkt dieser Abhand-lung steht das Unternehmen. Es gibt mehrere Möglichkeiten zur “Aufweichung” der Budgetrestriktion: Subventionen, Steuerfreiheit, weiche Kredite usw. Die Weiche schwächt die Preissensibilität, führt zu Verlusten in der Wirksamkeit, und unter gewissen Umständen kann eine Mehrnachfrage herbeigeführt werden. Die Abhand-lung untersucht das Phanomen der “weichen Budgetrestriktion” in Ungarn, Jugosla-wien und China, das heisst in den Wirtschaften, die in der Einführung von marktorien-tierten Dezentralisationsreformen bahnbrechend sind. Die sozialistischen Wirtschaften weisen einen ziemlich hohen Grad dieses Phänomens auf, das in geringerem Masse auch in gemischten Wirtschaften zu beobachten ist.〈section xml:id="abs1-3"〉〈title type="main"〉RÉSUMÉL'adoucissement” de la contrainte budgétaire apparaît lors du relâchement de la stricte relation entre les dépenses et les recettes d'une unitééconomique (entreprise, ménage…). Cela survient quand l'excés de dépenses est pris en charge par une autre institution, l'exemple type en étant l'Etat-Providence. II existe plusieurs façons “d'adoucir” la contrainte budgétaire: les subventions, les abattements fiscaux, les crédits bonifiés, etc. Cet adoucissement affaiblit la capacityé de réponse par les prix, il conduit à des pertes d'efficacité, et, dans certaines conditions, peut engendrer un excès de demande. On peut contempler le stade ultime de ce phénomène dans les économies socialistes, mais les économies mixtes en présentent certains symptômes.L'auteur examine le syndrôme de “l'adoucissement” de la contrainte budgétaire en Hongrie, en Yougoslavie et en Chine, c'est-à-dire dans les économies socialistes qui, les premierès, ont tenté une certaine décentralisation économique.

Notizen: The monetarist model of the balance of payments concludes that payments deficits are caused by inappropriate central bank decisions under the unstated assumption that such institutions are independent and hence that the growth of the domestic assets of the central bank can be viewed as an exogenous or decision variable. It is argued in this paper that this assumption is incorrect for developing countries with relatively primitive or ‘thin’ capital markets. In such countries there is no alternative to financing central government budget deficits through the central bank. As a result such deficits are the true decision variable and ultimately determine the behavior of the balance of payments through their impact on the expansion of the central bank's domestic assets. In countries with more developed financial markets, however, alternative means of financing government budget deficits do exist, and the central bank can more reasonably be viewed as independent.This hypothesis is tested by substituting the government budget deficit for the growth of the central bank's domestic assets in a typical monetarist model of the balance of payments. It is predicted that this substitution will work well for those countries with very limited or underdeveloped capital markets. An index of financial development is then derived and 54 countries are divided into three groups on the basis of the extent of such capital market ‘deepening’. The empirical results support the previously stated hypothesis in that the substitution of the government deficit for the growth of the central bank's domestic assets in a monetarist payments model is successful for those countries with the least developed financial systems, moderately successful for the intermediate group, and decidedly unsuccessful for countries with highly developed capital markets. It is suggested that for most underdeveloped countries the monetarist model of the balance of payments might be better viewed as a fiscal policy model, but that the traditional monetarist model remains relevant for the industrialized countries.〈section xml:id="abs1-2"〉〈title type="main"〉ZUSAMMENFASSUNGDas monetaristische Zahlungsbilanzmodell zeigt, dass Zahlungsbilanzdefizite durch unangebrachte Zentralbankentscheidungen verursacht werden, und zwar unter der impliziten Annahme, dass derartige Institutionen unabhängig seien und daher das Wachstum der inländischen Aktiva als exogen oder Entscheidungsvariable ange-sehen werden kann. Bezugnehmend auf Entwicklungsländer mit verhältnismässig primitiven oder schwachen Kapitalmärkten wird die vorerwähnte Annahme in diesem Papier als unrichtig angesehen. Es gibt in diesen Ländern keine Alternative für die Finanzierung der Haushaltsdefizite der Zentralregierung durch die Zentralbank. Diese Haushaltsdefizite stellen daher die wahre Entscheidungsvariable dar und bestimmen schliesslich das Zahlungsbilanzverhalten durch ihre Auswirkung auf das Wachstum der Inlandsaktiva der Zentralbank. In Lándern mit stárkeren Finanz-márkten gibt es jedoch alternative Möglichkeiten zur Finanzierung von Haushalts-defiziten, und in solch einem Fall kann die Zentralbank schon eher als unabhängig betrachtet werden.Diese Hypothese wird in einem typischen monetaristischen Zahlungsbilanzmodell auf die Probe gestellt, indem das Haushaltsdefizit durch das Wachstum der Inlandsaktiva der Zentralbank ersetzt wird. Es wird angenommen, dass dieser Aus-tausch bei Ländern mit sehr eingeschrankten oder schwach entwickelten Kapitalmarkten erfolgversprechend sein wird. Über die finanzpolitische Entwicklung wird dann ein Index aufgestellt und auf der Grundlage des Ausmasses einer solchen Kapitalmarktkräftigung (deepening) werden 54 Länder in drei Gruppen aufgeteilt. Die vorgenannte Hypothese, nämlich dass der Austausch des Haushaltsdefizits gegen steigende Inlandsaktiva der Zentralbank in einem monetaristischen Zahlungsbilanz-modell für Länder mit schwach entwickelten Finanzsystemen ziemlich erfolgreich ist, sich jedoch weniger erfolgversprechend anlässt für die Ländergruppe mit stärkeren Finanzsystemen, und entschieden erfolglos für Länder mit ausgesprochen starken Kapitalmärkten ist, wird durch die empirischen Ergebnisse untermauert. Es wird darauf hingewiesen, dass das monetaristische Zahlungsbilanzmodell für die Mehrzahl der Entwicklungsländer vorzugsweise als fiskalpolitisches Modell angesehen werden sollte, während für die Industrieländer auch weiterhin das traditionelle monetaristische Modell relevant bleibt.〈section xml:id="abs1-3"〉〈title type="main"〉RÉSUMÉLa théorie monétariste de la balance des paiements suggère que les déficits extérieurs sont causés par des politiques monétaires inadéquates de la banque centrale, en supposant que ces politiques peuvent être considérées comme indépendantes et done exogénes. Cet article maintient qu'une telle supposition ne s'applique pas aux pays en voie de développement avec des marchés financiers peu développés. Dans de tels pays, il n'y a pas d'autre alternative mais de financer les déficits budgétaires par le recours à la banque centrale. Ces déficits sont done les vrais variables de décision et déterminent le comportement de la balance des paiements par leur influence sur l'expansion du crédit par la banque centrale. Dans des pays à marché financiers plus développés, il existe d'autres moyens de financer les déficits budgétaires, et la banque centrale peut done être considérée comme indépendante.L'hypothese considérée ci-dessus est testée en substituant la variable représentant le niveau du déficit budgétaire celle représentant l'expansion du crédit par la banque centrale dans un modéle monétariste de la balance des paiements. L'hypothese est que cette substitution produira des résultats empiriques meilleurs dans le cas des pays à marchés financiers peu développés. L'on dérive par la suite un indice du développement financier sur la base d'une mesure de la “profondeur” des marchés financiers. Les résultats empiriques supportent l'hypothèse avancée dans la mesure où le déficit de la balance des paiements est statistiquement bien expliquée par le variable déficit budgétaire dans le cas des pays à marchés financiers trés peu développés, et mal expliquée dans le cas des pays à marchés financiers trés développés. L'article conclut que pour la plupart des pays en voie de développement, le modèle monétariste s'interprete mieux comme modèle fiscaliste, mais que le modèle monétariste tradi-tionnel reste valable pour les pays industrialisés.

Notizen: Most people except professional academic economists resist or reject the use of the price system. The four main reasons are lack of information, undesirable distributional consequences, unfairness and reluctance to trade, and adverse effects on preferences. The reasons brought forward against the price system are only partly convincing, particularly in comparison to other decision-making systems. The use of the price system may create more problems than traditional neoclassical economics admits. The difficulties and paradoxes connected with the use of the price system provide a challenge to existing economic theory.

Notizen: Book reviewed in this ArticleAMEMIYA, TAKESHI: Advanced EconometricsAUGUSTINOVICS, MÁRIA (ed.): Long-Term Models at WorkBIENE, PETER: Die Theorie der optimalen Besteuerung unter wohlfahrtsökonomischen AspektenBÖS, DIETER: Public Enterprise EconomicsEGNER, ERICH: Der Verlust der alten ÖkonomikELTIS, WALTER: The Classical Theory of Economic GrowthFERNANDEZ, RONALD, Excess Profits: The Rise of United TechnologiesGIERSCH, HERBERT und SCHMIDT, HARTMUT: Offene Märkte für Beteiligungskapital: USA - Grossbritunnien - Bundesrepublik DeutschlundDE GIJSEL, PETER und SEIFERT-VOGT, HANS-GÜNTHER (Hrsg.): Schattenwirtschaft und alternative ÖkonomieGWYNNE, ROBERT N.: Industrialisation and Urbanisation in Latin AmericaHOLLANDER, SAMUEL: The Economics of John Stuart MillKINDLEBERGER, CHARLES P.: Multinational ExcursionsLABYS, WALTER C. and POLLAK, PETER K.: Commodity Models for Forecasting and Policy AnalysisLAFEBER, WALTER: Inevitable Revolutions: The United States in Central AmericaLANGLOIS, RICHARD N. (ed.): Economics as a ProcessMALINVAUD, EDMOND: Mass UnemploymentMÜLLER, DENNIS C.: The Modern CorporationRUNGE, HARRY: Haushaltsfinanzierung durch NotendruckWAGENER, HANS-JÜRGEN and DRUKKER, JAN W. (eds.): The Economic Law of Motion of Modern SocietyWALKER, DONALD A. (ed.): Money and Markets

Notizen: In dieser Studie werden Schätzungen der Strukturparameter und Multiplikatoren eines neuen klassischen makroökonometrischen Modells (mit rationalen Erwartungen) vorgestellt und mit denen der unrestringierten reduzierten Form sowie mit Schätzungen eines Modells ohne strukturelle Restriktionen aber mit den Restriktionen der rationalen Erwartungen verglichen. Als Ergebnis werden die strukturellen Restriktionen, die insbesondere aus der Lucas-Sargent-Angebotsfunktion resultieren, abgelehnt. Die unrestringierte Schätzung ergibt signifikante Einflüsse der erwarteten Komponenten der Staatsausgaben, der Exporte und der Terms of Trade auf den Output, aber keine dominanten Einflüsse der erwarteten und unerwarteten Geldmenge. Eine deutliche Verantwortung der Bundesbank für die Konjunkturzyklen seit der ersten ölkrise lässt sich daher nicht nachweisen. Das Testresultat für die aus den rationalen Erwartungen resultierenden Restriktionen hängt davon ab, wie die Erwartungen über die exogenen Variablen gebildet werden. Die Restriktionen aus rationalen Erwartungen werden angenommen, wenn autoregressive Prozesse für die Erwartungsbildung verwendet werden, sie werden abgelehnt, wenn gleitende Durchschnitte benutzt werden. Schliesslich wird die Hypothese der Konstanz der Parameter der Lucas-Sargent-Angebotsfunktion getestet und dabei abgelehnt.

Notizen: This paper analyzes the effects of EEC and West German policy towards horizontal agreements and restrictive practices on the performance of the West German manufacturing sector. Three empirical studies are reported: (1) a time-series study of price indexes for 10 products from the mid-1950's to the present; (2) a cross-section study (for 1979 data) of 106 industries; and (3) an analysis of changes in company profit margins over time. The results suggest some short-run response to antitrust cases, but no long-lasting ‘deterrent’ effect. There is some evidence of a ‘regime effect’ occurring after 1957, i. e., a general price decline in West German industry due to changes in the competitive environment which started in that year.

Notizen: Adams, Michael: Ökonomische Analyse der Gefährdungs- und VerschuldenshaftungBardhan, Pranab: The Political Economy of Development in IndiaBös, Dieter und Stolper, Hans-Dieter (Hrsg.): Schumpeter oder Keynes?Brenner, Y. S.: Capitalism, Competition and Economic Crisis.Brinkmann, Gerhard: Ökonomik der Arbeit.Burkitt, Brian: Radical Political Economy.Cline, William R.: International Debt: Systemic Risk and Policy ResponseCukierman, Alex: Infation, Stagflation, Relative prices, and Imperfect InformationDurán, Esperanza (ed.): Latin America and the World RecessionGriffiths, Alan and Wall, Stuart: Applied Economics.Hanser, Christian (Hrsg.): Auswirkungen von Infrastrukturinvestitionen.Hilzenbecher, Manfred: Frauenerwerbstätigkeit, Familienzyklus und Zeitallokation.Hine, R. C.: The Political Economy of European Trade.Holton, R. J.: The Transition from Feudalism to CapitalismKatsoulacos, Yannis: The Employment Effect of Technical Change.Kosta, Jiři: Wirtschaftssysteme des realen Sozialismus.Kuh, Edwin; Neese, John W. and Hollinger, Peter: Structural Sensitivity in Econometric Models.Langhammer, Rolf J. und Spinanger, Dean: Wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit zwischen den Entwicklungsländern.Van Lith, Ulrich: Der Markt als Ordnungsprinzip des Bildungsbereichs.Parker, William N.: Europe, America, and the Wider World.Pascallon, Pierre: Théorie MonétairePelzmann, Linde: Wirtschaftspsychologie.Siebert, Horst (Hrsg.): Intertemporale Allokation.Streeck, Wolfgang: Industrial Relations in West Germany. de Vries, Margaret Garritsen: The International Monetary Fund 1972-1978.

Notizen: In the SCHUMPETER-DOWNS economic approach to politics, rational citizens vote to select a government that will supply policies to meet their preferences. There is no place in that logic for the variegated coalitions which are called political parties; voting itself is indeed irrational following JOHN STUART MILL'S view of the relationship between citizens and politicians, we suggest that voting and other political activities are the ‘price’ paid in an exchange relationship in which the quid pro quo is the promise of politicians to represent the opinions of citizens in parliamentary debates in what MILL called the Congress of Opinions. In that view, political parties are organizations that serve to guarantee that the implicit or quasi-contracts between citizens and representatives are abided by and fulfilled.〈section xml:id="abs1-2"〉〈title type="main"〉ZUSAMMENFASSUNGIn der demokratischen Wirtschaftstheorie von SCHUMPETER und DOWNS wird ange-nommen, dass der bewusste, rational handelnde Staatsbürger eine Regierung wählt, die seine politischen Interessen unterstützt. In dieser Logik gibt es keinen Platz für die verschiedenen Koalitionen, die als politische Parteien bekannt sind. Der individuelle Akt des Wählens selbst wird als irrational bezeichnet. In diesem Artikel beziehen wir uns auf die Ansicht JOHN STUART MILLS, der das Verhäitnis zwischen Staatsbürgern und politischen Vertretern analysiert, und behaupten, dass der Gebrauch des Stimm-rechts und alle politischen Tätigkeiten der “Preis” für das Versprechen des Politikers, die Interessen des Staatsbürgers im Parlament (JOHN STUART MILL nennt dasselbe “Kongress der politischen Meinungen”) zu vertreten sei. Unter diesem Gesichtspunkt gesehen, kann man sagen, dass politische Parteien Organisationen sind, die dazu dienen, die Erfüllung dieses impliziten Vertrages oder quasi-Vertrages zwischen Staatsbürgern und ihren politischen Stellvertretern zu garantieren.〈section xml:id="abs1-3"〉〈title type="main"〉RÉSUMÉLa théorie économique de la démocratic énoncée par SCHUMPETER et DOWNS suppose que les citoyens votent pour désigner un gouvernement qui formulera, à son tour, des choix politiques conformes à leurs préférences. Non seulement une telle façon de concevoir ne laisse aucune place à ces différentes coalitions bigarrées nommées partis politiques, mais le fait même de voter est considéré comme irrationnel. Dans cet article, prenant pretexte de ce que nous suggére JOHN STUART MILL sur les rapports entre citoyens et politiciens, nous interprétons l'expression du suffrage et les autres actes politiques individuels comme le “prix” que les citoyens patent en échange de la promesse que les hommes politiques leur font de les représenter au cours des débats parlementaires qui se déroulent dans ce que MILL définit les “Congrés des Opinions”. Les partis politiques constituent, par conséquent, des organisations qui servent à garantir et à contrôler que ce contrat implicite ou que ce quasi-contrat entre les citoyens et leurs représentants politiques soit rempli et respecté.

Notizen: Divergent trends determine the evolving shape of North-South trade in manufactures. They are of quite different compatibility with the interests of old industrialized and newly industrializing countries. One such trend is the growth-induced change in the international division of labour how it corresponds to the paradigm of mainstream trade theory. It causes temporary adjustment problems in the North, but promises permanent gains in efficiency and overall welfare. Another trend - superficially very similar to the first one, but driven by a very different dynamic - is the relocation of production to low-wage countries, resulting in the substitution of high-wage labour by low-wage labour and in a considerable loss of market value of the thus displaced production factors. To the degree this second trend prevails, technological competition between high-wage countries becomes a zero-sum game for privileged world market positions. Still another trend is that - due to new technologies and changing demand structures - old industrialized countries regain competitive advantages lost to low-wage countries. Only the first trend is compatible with the interests of North and South alike. This trend would have to be strengthened if the destabilizing consequences of the second trend are to be avoided. The EC can choose between such a stabilizing strategy (promoting labour-intensive Southern growth) and an offensive mercantilist strategy of gaining maximum high-tech market shares.〈section xml:id="abs1-2"〉〈title type="main"〉ZUSAMMENFASSUNGIm Nord-Süd-Handel mit Industrieprodukten sind unterschiedliche Entwicklungs-tendenzen festzustellen, die sich in höchst unterschiedlichem Masse mit den Inter-essen von alten Industrieländern und neu industrialisierenden Ländern (NICs) ver-tragen. Eine ist die der aussenhandelstheoretischen Standardvorstellung entspre-chende Veránderung der internationalen Arbeitsteilung im Zuge wirtschaftlichen Wachstums. Die damit verbundene Produktionsumstellung im Norden bringt vorübergehende Anpassungslasten und dauerhafte Effizienzgewinne. Eine äusserlich nicht unterscheidbare, aber von einer anderen Dynamik bestimmte zweite Tendenz ist die Produktionsverlagerung an neu verfügbar werdende Billigstandorte, in deren Gefolge Hochlohnproduktion durch Niedriglohnproduktion substituiert wird, wobei die so freigesetzten Faktoren eine beträchtliche Entwertung erfahren. In dem Masse, wie diese zweite Tendenz überwiegt, wird der Technologiewettbewerb zwischen den HochlohnLändern zum Ausscheidungskampf um die privilegierten Weltmarktposi-tionen. Eine weitere Tendenz ist die Rückverlagerung von Standortvorteilen in die alten Industrielander im Zuge neuer technologischer Entwicklungen und Nachfrage-strukturen. Die Interessen von Nord und Süd können sich nur bezüglich der ersten Entwicklungstendenz treffen. Sie gälte es, zu stärken, um die zweite Tendenz mit ihren destabilisierenden Folgen zu entschärfen. Die strategischen Optionen der EG liegen zwischen einer derartigen Entschärfung durch forcierte Förderung arbeitsintensiven Süd-Wachstums und einer offensiv merkantilistischen Sicherung von Hochtechno-logiemärkten.〈section xml:id="abs1-3"〉〈title type="main"〉RÉSUMÉDans le domaine du commerce Nord-Sud avec des produits industriels de nouvelles tendences divergeantes existent dont la compatibilityé avec les intérêts des anciens pays industrialisés et ceux des pays en train d'industrialisation n'est pas toujours la même. La première tendence reflétant la position standard de la théorie du commerce extérieur implique la modification de la répartition internationale du travail dûà la croissance économique. II en résulte une nouvelle orientation de la production au Nord aboutissant à des charges d'ajustement temporaries ainsi que des avantages permanents au niveau de l'efficacité. La deuxième tendance d'apparence identique mais faisant preuve d'un dynamisme différent est la réallocation de la production dans les pays aux salaires bas minimisant ainsi les charges salariales dans les pays du Nord. En même temps ce processus engendre également une dévalorisation considerablé de la main-d'Óuvre sur le marché du travail. Si cette deuxième tendance arrive à ce faire valoir les pays aux salaires hauts vont se lancer dans une véritable bataille pour l'obtention de positions privilégiées au marché mondial. Une troisième tendance dûe au nouveau développement technologique ainsi qu'à une demande modifyée montre que les anciens pays industrialisés récupèrent leur compétitivité déjà perdue aux pays aux salaires bas. Les intérêts du Nord et du Sud ne peuvent se rencontrer qu'en cas de la première tendance. II conviendrait de la renforcer pour atténuer les aléas de la deuxième tendance. La CEE devoit faire le choix entre l'atténuation de ces conséquences déstabilisatrices en promouvant une croissance au Sud basée sur une production de haut coefficient de main-d'oeuvre et l'obtention de marchés de hautes technologies en adaptant une stratégie résolument mercantiliste.