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The paper analyses the insecurity of state relative to private pensions. It considers issues such as moral hazard, policy‐induced risk and the way in which property rights accrue to a scheme's beneficiaries. The article concludes that state schemes are fundamentally more insecure than private schemes and that the difficulties of state schemes have not arisen simply because of an accident of demographics. The difficulties of private pension schemes are also discussed as well as the transition problems arising from moving from state to private arrangements.

Maintains that cooperation between Northeast Asian nations within the energy sector, and multilateral energy regimes, such as those adopted by ASEAN and in Europe, will result in mutual benefits and regional security. Includes Japan's cost figures for trans-Asian natural gas pipelines.

How rapid economic development affects the arms build-up, tensions between nations, and the potential for conflict; discusses US and international policy options and the influence of China.

Household water insecurity is a pressing problem in developing countries. Unsustainable water withdrawal is increasing due to population growth, industrialization, urbanization, and increasing agricultural production which leads to various problems. The number of countries facing problems of water scarcity and insufficient water supply is rising. Already there are 1.2 billion people without access to clean water, many of whom live in 20 developing countries classified as "water scarce". Typically it is found in these countries, that the poor pay particularly high prices for water and are most water insecure. Progress towards water security can be made only if there is a more comprehensive understanding of the interactions among waters' various characteristics and functions. Water is not only a natural resource, but also an economic commodity, and a human consumption good or entitlement. The problems of water insecurity can be grouped under three main headings: availability, access and usage. In the framework of a multidisciplinary approach to the analysis of water problems, the paper elaborates on these three elements, defining sectoral and cross- sectoral knowledge gaps. The paper concludes with a research agenda in support of improved policy design and action.

Displacement of white-collar jobs & growth of a contingent workforce have impacted all segments of the US workforce, but segmented analysis of these employment trends' impact on disabled persons reveals that they experience these trends in exaggerated form. Women with disabilities have experienced substantial increases in employment, while men with disabilities have experienced significant declines. Persons with disabilities have experienced a disproportionate amount of growth in part-time work. The inadequacies of principal theories of work disability ebb & flow are highlighted, & the poor prognosis for future labor force participation for disabled persons is discussed. 4 Tables. Adapted from the source document.

This article questions the widespread view that the Canadian and US labour movements are diverging with respect to their strategic orientations (militant vs cooperativist) towards labour-management relations. Focusing on the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW), the leading example of militant, social unionism in Canada, the article analyses the CAW's movement away from a more militant, rejectionist orientation in the 1980s towards a more complex, cooperativist orientation to labour-management relations at the local level in the 1990s. The CAW's changing orientation may exemplify broader workplace-centred cooperativist trends in Canada that are similar to those in the US. Union strategies in both countries are strongly conditioned by growing job insecurity and other competitiveness constraints in the context of highly decentralized union structures. In the case of the CAW, such cooperation with management reflects a more defensive unionism that is distinguished from a competitive unionism embracing 'high trust' managerial and 'progressive competitive' social democratic agendas. However, both kinds of unionism are considered to be inadequate, disorganized, microeconomic responses to increasing macroeconomic coercion.