USING THE CONCEPT OF STRUCTURE-INDUCED EQUIILIBRIUM, THIS ESSAY DEVELOPS A SIMPLE BEHAVIORAL MODEL OF ROLL CALL VOTING. THE MAIN RESULTS ARE (1) IF SOME COMMITTEES ARE PREFERENCE OUTLIERS RELATIVE TO THE LEGISLATURE AS A WHOLE, THEN ROLL CALL DATA ARE LIKELY TO BE ARTIFICIALLY UNIDIMENSIONAL. (2) THE UNIDIMENSIONAL BIAS PERSISTS EVEN AS THE DIMENSIONALITY OF THE POLICY SPACE BECOMES LARGE. (3) EVEN IF COMMITTEES ARE PREFERENCE OUTLIERS, IT MAY BE IMPOSSIBLE TO DISCOVER THIS FACT BY LOOKING ONLY AT ROLL CALL VOTES.
THIS PAPER WAS DESIGNED TO TEST THE HYPOTHESIS THAT, THROUGH A KNOWLEDGE OF SOCIAL CHOICE, JEFFERSON AND/OR MADISON WAS IN A POSITION TO INDUCE EQUILIBRIA IN THE INSTITUTIONS THEY DESIGNED (THE PARLIAMENTARY RULES OF CONGRESS, AND THE STRUCTURE OF CHECKS AND BALANCES RESPECTIVELY). THE AUTHORS EXAMINED ALL THE KNOWN PRIMARY DOCUMENTS WHICH APPEAR TO BEAR ON THE QUESTION, AND NONE OF THEM SHOWS ANY HINT THAT EITHER JEFFERSON OR MADISON UNDERSTOOD THE SOICAL CHOICE COMPONENTS OF CONDORCET'S WORK. THEY FIND THAT THE HYPOTHESIS FAILS. THE CONSTITUTION, THE "FEDERALIST PAPERS" AND JEFFERSON'S "MANUAL" ARE ALL MASTERPIECES BUT THEY ARE NOT MASTERPIECES OF HERESTHETICS.
Argues that the meaning of any particular package of new techniques is dependent upon the social structure within which the new technology is applied. New high-yielding seed varieties require the increased application of energy to the farming process. Once the meaning of an innovation package becomes dependent upon the social structure in which it is utilised, then the theory of induced technical change loses much of its meaning. (SJK)
Based on a review of the literature, it is contended that the meaning or bias of new techniques depends on the social structure within which the new technology is applied. Using agricultural production as a case in point, it is shown that in certain structures, high-yielding technologies increase the demand for labor, provide additional income for small farmers, & lower relative food prices. In others, however, the poverty-reducing impact of similar technology is significaantly blunted. In this context, the theory of induced technical innovation seems to lose much of its meaning. 2 Figures, 16 References. Adapted from the source document.
To explain why the wealthy are not only rich (they exercise purchasing power) but powerful as well (they command obedience) in liberal societies characterized by a competitive market capitalist economy, the political structure arising from competitive exchanges in a capitalist economy are defined. It is demonstrated that, under quite general conditions, the holders of substantial wealth are powerful in the sense that they can further their interests through the credible use of sanctions against others. Thus, the common representation (in both liberal political philosophy & economic theory) of at holds that voluntary exchanges as devoid of asymmetrical power relationships is shown to be false. By contrast, a microeconomic model is elaborated of the endogenous enforcement of claims arising from exchange & the consequent nonclearing nature of competitive market equilibria. Applications to the labor & capital markets demonstrate that substantial wealth holders exercise power in both types of exchanges. 2 Figures.
HOW DO ECONOMICALLY SUCCESSFUL COUNTRIES LIKE GERMANY, JAPAN AND SWITZERLAND DIFFER IN THEIR POST-PRIMARY EDUCATION POLICIES? AFTER IDENTIFYING GREAT VARIATIONS IN THE STRUCTURE AND CAPACITY OF SECONDARY AND HIGHER EDUCATION SECTORS, EXPLANATIONS ARE SOUGHT IN TERMS OF DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL FACTORS. SWITZERLAND AND JAPAN EMERGE AS POLAR CASES IN HOW POLITICAL VARIABLES - SUCH AS CENTRALISM-FEDERALISM, PARTIES AND BUREAUCRACIES AFFECTED CHOICE OF VEHICLES AND EXTENT OF EDUCATIONAL EXPANSION. PARTY INFLUENCE IS MOST CLEARCUT IN GERMANY, BUT VARIES BY SECTOR. WHEREAS GERMAN AND JAPANESE REFORM AGENDAS CHANGED IN THE AFTERMATH OF OCCUPATION EXPERIENCES. SWITZERLAND WENT ITS OWN MAY UNTIL PROSPECTS FOR EUROPEAN INTEGRATION INDUCED GREATER ACCOMMODATION TO THE TRAINING AND CREDENTIAL PRACTICES OF ITS NEIGHBORS.
A discussion of the role of technology & its socioeconomic impact on Third World societies. After defining the meaning of science & technology, contrasting technology-social change perspectives are briefly reviewed, followed by a brief discourse on the process of social change induced by technology. It is argued that technological change presents new problems as well as new opportunities, in that it disrupts social structures by forcing changes in existing socioeconomic institutions & relationships. These transitional disruptions tend to be more painful for the Third World than was the case for the now developed nations. Thus, the Third World faces the challenge of making facilitative adaptations, while preserving the best of their traditions. While the challenge is formidable, it is eased somewhat by the fact that the Third World can selectively learn from the developed world's experience. 25 References. AA
THIS PAPER ASSESSES RECENT PROPOSALS TO INCREASE TAXES AND TARIFFS IN THE ENERGY SECTOR TO REDUCE THE U.S. FEDERAL DEFICIT. THE PAPER ESTIMATES THE WELFARE, FISCAL AND EMPLOYMENT EFFECTS OF THE MOST COMMON PROPOSALS. THE ESTIMATES ARE DERIVED FROM A TWELVE-SECTOR GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM MODEL OF THE U.S. ECONOMY CALIBRATED TO 1984. A PROPOSED 25 PERCENT IMPORT TARIFF ON CRUDE OIL WOULD RAISE $7.3 BILLION IN GOVERNMENT REVENUE, WHILE A 15 PERCENT EXCISE TAX ON PETROLEUM PRODUCTS WOULD RAISE $35 BILLION. EACH DOLLAR OF GOVERNMENT REVENUE WOULD COME AT A LOSS OF 25 CENTS IN WELFARE IN THE FIRST CASE, BUT AT ONLY A ONE CENT LOSS IN WELFARE IN THE SECOND. THE PAPER ALSO ESTIMATES THE LEAST COSTLY (IN TERMS OF WELFARE) COMBINATION OF EXCISE TAXES AND IMPORT TARIFFS ON THE TWO SECTORS TO RAISE $20 BILLION IN GOVERNMENT REVENUE. THE OPTIMAL TAX STRUCTURE IS NONUNIFORM, INVOLVING BOTH TAXES AND IMPORT TARIFFS ON OIL, AND A TARIFF AND SMALL SUBSIDY ON PETROLEUM PRODUCTS TO COUNTERACT THE DISTORTION INDUCED BY THE TAXATION OF OIL.
A case study of Chicago's (Ill) black belt is used to exemplify the continuing degradation ("hyperghettoization") of urban black ghettos since the riots of the mid-1960s. Economic exclusion & deprivation are the lot of the soaring population in the crumbling neighborhoods of south & west Chicago. These conditions are analyzed as the result of (1) the recomposition of urban capitalist economy, & (2) exclusionary public policies over the last twenty years. First, corporate strategies have led to the deindustrialization of inner-city areas & "casualization of employment." Second, public policies in transportation & housing have fueled racial & class divisions in metropolises; moreover, school policies have marginalized, rather than integrated, ghetto youth. As a result, the social, economic, & cultural structure of black ghettos has gradually deteriorated. In inner-city areas, a permanent underclass is forming, which survives on crime & increasingly develops into a separate community. Welfare reform, which attempts to redress these problems by disciplining the underclass, is misguided. Only comprehensive social reforms (including provision of public employment & a nationally guaranteed minimum income) & the reversal of structurally induced inner-city conditions can undo this situation. 2 Tables, 65 References. B. Convert
