“Post‐Truth,” “Alternative Facts” and “Fakenomics”

South African companies are accused of hoarding profits to accumulate large amounts of “idle” cash, as well as of being the perpetrators of massive illegal capital flight. This paper argues that much of the claimed corporate cash is either offshore or belongs to banks. It reminds that bank deposits increase when companies borrow, not when they retain profits. It shows, too, that measures of massive capital flight actually reflect data errors. Exaggerating, through faulty methodology the extent to which companies have cash or may be involved in illegal capital flight is unhelpful. It exacerbates already‐fraught government‐business relations, and complicates the search for solutions to South Africa's economic problems.     

“Regional questions”

Publications Reviewed:

Royal Town Planning Institute, 1986: Strategic Planning for Regional Potential. A discussion document.

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, 1986: Regional Policy-A Fresh Approach.

Armstrong, H. and Taylor, J. 1987: Regional Policy: The Way Forward. The Employment Institute.

Northern Region Councils Association, 1986: The State of the Northern Region.

South East Economic Development Strategy (SEEDS), 1987: South-South Divide. An exposition of the SEEDS project.     

”Uneven development“

John Allen and Doreen Massey (eds), 1988: The Economy in Question. London: Sage Publications, £8.95 paper.

Doreen Massey and John Allen (eds), 1988: Uneven Re-Development: Cities and Regions in Transition. A Reader. London: Hodder and Stoughton, £7.50 paper.

Kevin Morgan and Andrew Sayer, 1988: Microcircuits of Capital: “Sunrise” Industry and Uneven Development Oxford: Polity Press. £35.00 cloth.     

“Enterprise boards and economic strategy”

Centre for Local Economic Strategies, undated: Enterprise Boards: their Contribution to Economic Development and Investment. Manchester: Centre for Local Economic Strategies, £2.50.

Cochrane, A. (editor), 1987: Developing Local Economic Strategies: Milton Keynes: Open University Press, no price stated.     

“Action for cities” and the urban environment

Government inner city policy has failed to solve problems of unemployment, dereliction, homelessness and social stress. The problems and their possible solutions are linked to environmental problems and the need for environmentally sustainable development in urban areas. Government policy on these issues is incoherent, and existing policies under “Action for Cities” will not reverse current trends of environmental degradation.     

The “North-South” controversy and Britain's regional problems

The extent of regional economic disparities in Britain has recently become the focus of considerable controversy. Attempts have been made to portray the existing situation in terms of a “North-South divide” or as “two nations”. Opponents of this point of view have argued that no such stark division of the country exists, and that prosperous areas can be found in parts of the North just as depressed areas can be found in parts of the South.

This paper considers the pattern of regional disparities which now prevails in Britain. Section I is a detailed presentation of the existing situation. Section II considers the question of how sharp a division there now is between different parts of Britain, followed, in Section III, by a discussion of the process of change which has brought about the regional disparities which we now observe. Implications for government policy are then considered.     

“Creating jobs — meeting needs”

Centre for Local Economic Strategies, 1988: Meeting Real Needs — Creating Real Jobs. Research Study Series No. 1, Alberton House, St. Mary's Parsonage, Manchester M3 2WJ.£10.00.     

Interest Groups and the “Rise and Decline” of Growth

Interest groups are known to exert a sclerotic impact on mean growth, à la 1982 . It is unknown, however, what impact (if any) groups exert on the volatility of growth—an important hindrance to development. In this article, we first consider what impact we should expect Olson groups to have on the volatility of growth. We then estimate the relation between groups and growth volatility in a cross‐country panel, using system generalized method of moments. The findings indicate that groups are associated with growth stability. In addition, the findings suggest that interest groups may be a source of the stability observed in democracies.