Economic Liberalism and Rural Space in Chile since 1973.
The article discusses the agricultural counter-reform which has been taking place in Chile since 1973 and which aims to develop a capitalist agriculture orientated towards export. The introduction of liberal economic ideas into the domain of agriculture has substantially transformed its characteristics, as it has put an end to the method of development induced by the two previous agricultural reforms. The measures that have been taken are the selling of public land and infrastructure to private owners, and the concentration of capital in the hands of a new rural bourgeoisie able to perform a vertical and horizontal agricultural/industrial integration. Beside this new bourgeoisie, a peasant population still exists but is being pauperised or turned into a proletariat. The author shows the rationality of economic liberalism and his conclusion is that solving the agricultural problem in Chile does not depend on the transformation of the agricultural structure, but on a total questioning of society.
Political environment and administrative reform in Europe
The author discusses exclusively induced and controlled changes in central administration with main emphasis on the role of political environment in the process of administrative reform. Problems arise from interaction between reform and — mainly political — environment. The concept of political environment has to be defined more specifically by listing through objective and comparative assessment its main ingredients, whose respective weightage is tentatively measured in the light of circumstances or politico-administrative Systems. A first attempt tries to assess the constituent elements of political environment, i.e. constitutional regime, politico-administrative machinery with relevant implications on the governmental or ministerial plane, political assemblies, political parties and pressure groups, etc., and finally the press and public opinion. This leads to a second stage, where the main questions can be sorted out and first answers provided. To what extent is administrative reform caused by political environment ? What main factors account for changes in the administrative machinery ? Do structures and administrative procedures adjust in line with changes in legal and societal requirements, or is it rather the administrative machinery that spearheads political and social change ? Finally, how does the civil service's normal adjustment to changing times — disregarding any reform movement — affect administrative reform and political environment ?
As the deadline for completion of the European internal market approaches, tax harmonisation becomes the major concern on the European policy agenda. Until now, the debate has only focused on the taxes which have direct incidence on the process of removing fron tiers barriers : indirect taxes and taxation of income from financial assets. Though the changes are likely to be very small and partial in the short term, the need for some modifications in national tax systems offers good opportunity for more general reflexion about the rationale of tax structures in Europe. This reflexion has to take into account the constraints induced by complete market integration and the necessities of allowing for some national specificities that are likely to persist, such as differences in demographic trends or in the degree of public sector involvment in the supply of certain goods and social services. Moreover, the prospect of monetary unification calls for discussion of how instruments and responsabilities ought to be shared in matter of stabilisation policy. First we analyse the major differences between existing national tax systems in Europe, the United-States and Japan, and present the current state of Community finance. We then briefly discuss the general economic principles of taxation. In the third section different ways of harmonising taxes are explored, trying to reconcile the constraints of harmonisation and the national specificities and sovereignties. These general conclusions are then applied to more detailed study of those taxes that ought to be harmonised taxes on financial assets income, corporate income taxes, VAT and excise duties or possibly transfered to the Community level in the event of an increase in the size of the Community budget. Finally we use the MIMOSA multinational macromodel to simulate the short and medium run macroeconomic consequences of various harmonisation hypotheses.
Genesis of Cyclical Indicators, and their Maturation in the United States Philippe Sigogne, Véronique Riches Economic fluctuations were born with the Economy. Acknowledged since millenaries, they were considered as fatalities during all the preindustrial era, on account of a predominating agriculture. Prices, some wages, and interest rates were long the mere elements recorded with some steadiness. Materials required forgauging real fluctuations appeared only with the development of manufactures and wage earners. The flow of economic theories has also mirrored the evolution of economic structures. Quite often did the economists lack long term statistical data to build tentative explanations. Midway through the XIXth century endogenous crises of capitalism were pointed out ; at the end of the century the emphasis was on swings around the equilibrium. Fluctuations are then classified according to their duration and analysed as departures from and return to short and long term equilibrium. The Great Depression of the thirties put an end to a first generation of cyclical indicators, guilty of misanticipating the crisis. By opposition the new researches did exclude any theoretical a priori. The American NBER worked out a systematic analysis of existing statistics using a basically empirical definition of cycles. The idea of business cycles has stood unchanged for more than fifty years. It allowed for a hardly questionable dating of reference cycles, then a selection of indicators well conforming with business cycles. Their first list goes back to 1 937. Simultaneously a diffusion measure of the cyclical process, sort of forerunner of business surveys, was elaborated. Publishing of cyclical indicators begins with the sixties. It popularizes the words of advanced, coincident and lagging indicators, then in 1 968 this of composite index. This last one has achieved a mediatic success that prejudices its reputation, as many users take it as a convenient way of mechanical forecasting. Actually cyclical indicators must be handled as a system where composite indexes, diffusion indexes and data exogenous to the business sector cohabit. The system of indicators has ratified the improvement of statistics, through its successive updatings. It forms not only a complete set of business monitoring instuments but also sums up the main sequences of private economic doings. Besides it stands apparently well to structural change induced by a rising tertiary sector.
L'Union Européenne encourage l'extensification des surfaces fourragères dans les élevages bovins et ovins, en vue de maîtriser les volumes de production et éviter la déprise. Mais cette extensification doit être menée dans de bonnes conditions afin de maintenir la productivité du troupeau et surtout ses résultats économiques, tout en conservant en bon état d'entretien les surfaces d'herbe. Un essai de longue durée (5 ans) a été mis en place dans un Domaine de l'INRA situé en montagne (800 m d'altitude), comparant deux troupeaux ovins de même effectif conduits avec une différence de chargement de 30 % (en UGB/ha d'herbe). Le protocole de conduite a été ajusté chaque année pour aboutir à la meilleure utilisation possible des surfaces de chacun des systèmes. L'extensification n'a pas entraîné de réduction des performances des brebis et a amélioré de 6 % le poids de carcasse des agneaux, malgré une diminution de 26 % de la consommation d'aliments concentrés et de 50 % des frais fourragers par brebis. Sur l'ensemble de l'essai, le bilan économique est en faveur du système plus extensif. Le supplément de marge, obtenu pour les 3/4 grâce à la réduction des intrants, permet de faire face aux charges de structure entraînées par l'agrandissement. Les résultats du système extensifié sont plus irréguliers et exigent une anticipation plus forte des décisions, notamment dans une gestion pluriannuelle des récoltes avec constitution de stocks de report pour la sécurité. Les exigences de technicité sont au moins aussi grandes qu'en conduite intensive. L'expérimentation présente un potentiel de réussite, qui ne pourra être mis en oeuvre par les éleveurs qu'avec un accompagnement technique et aussi des mesures soutenant les systèmes extensifs comme la Prime à l'Herbe instaurée en France depuis 1993. ; The European Union encourages the extensification of grassland on beef and sheep farms to better master production and to avoid reduced land use. Good conditions, however, are necessary to realise extensification in order to maintain a flock's productivity and particularly its economical results, while maintaining control of the natural vegetation. A long term trial (5 years) was undertaken on an INRA experimental farm located in unfavourised area (800 m altitude). On the farm, two identical sheep flocks were managed with a 30% stocking rate (cattle equivalent/ha) difference. The experimental procedures were adapted every year to achieve optimum grass utilisation under both systems. Extensification did not reduce the ewes' performance and it improved the lambs' carcass weight by 6% in spite of a 26% reduction in the consumption of concentrate and a 50% decrease in grass production cost per ewe. The economical balance, over the whole experimental period, favoured the extensive system. The overall gross margin surplus, 3/4 of which was due to input reduction, was sufficient to cover the structural changes induced by extension. The extensive system results were, however more irregular and required better long term planning over several years, particularly for resource management and for stock carry-over. The technical skill required is at least equal to that required for intensive production. This experiment represented a potential means for improving farming methods. Nevertheless, this potential will not be attained unless the farmers receive technical and economic support for the extensive systems such as the grass subsidy- that was established in France in 1993.
