Total factor productivity in South African agriculture, 1947‐91

Indices of total factor productivity (TFP) measure aggregate output per unit of aggregate input, providing a guide to the efficiency of agricultural production. This article outlines the relationship between production functions and TFP indices. Then, an index is constructed for South African agriculture for the period 1947‐91. The index shows that TFP grew at an average rate of 1,3 per cent per annum. However, TFP growth has increased since the reforms of the early 1980s. Since capital has been more realistically priced relative to labour, greater productivity growth has gone together with increasing employment, which must have improved social welfare.     

Whistle Blowers: Saints of Secular Culture

Neither the corporate view of whistle blowers as tattle-tales and traitors, nor the more sympathethic understanding of them as tragic heroes battling corrupt or abused systems captures what is at stake in whistle blowing at its most distinctive. The courage, determination and sacrifice of the most ardent whistle blowers suggests that they only begin to be appreciated when they are seen as the saints of secular culture. Although some whistle blowers may be attempting to deflect attention from their own deficiencies and others may be disgruntled employees, the most serious instances involve a level of moral sensitivity that approaches religious proportions that are baffling for a culture that has dispensed with sainthood.     

Growth vs basic needs: Is there a trade-off?

Critics of the basic-needs approach to development have argued that by emphasizing activities which are essentially consumption oriented, the basic-needs approach implies a reduction in the rate of growth. On the other hand, proponents of this approach point to the human capital aspects of basic needs, which could be instrumental in increasing productivity and growth in output. This paper attempts to marshal some further evidence of the growth-basic needs trade-off by undertaking econometric estimates of the variables explaining LDC growth during the 1960–1973 period. The general finding is that countries which had done well on basic needs in 1960 had above average growth rates during the period 1960–1973. Improvement in basic needs during the period are also correlated with higher growth rates of GNP, but it is impossible to ascertain if this improvement is a cause of or an effect of the higher growth in output.     

The involvement of trade unions in quality: evidence from EC enterprises

In 1987–88 a large attitudinal survey covering all 12 Member States of the European Community was carried out by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions in Dublin which focused on various aspects of participation by employee representatives in new information technology. This paper presents evidence on one important aspect of technological change—that of participation in product and service quality.