20世纪30年代地权集中趋势及其特点——30年代土地问题研究之二

20世纪30年代,尤其是1932－1934年农业恐慌期间,农村土地买卖和地权流向出现了新的特点：由以往地价持续上涨、买卖兴旺一变而为地价惨跌、买卖淡静,土地由供不应求一变而为虚假过剩。隐藏在这一切背后的最广大自耕农加速贫困化。土地买卖中原有的地权多向流动消失,变成由中小土地所有者向大地主、城市地主的单向流动。自耕农、半自耕农占地零细化和无地化的程度愈加严重,中小地主也普遍衰败,大地主、城市地主则急剧膨胀,全国地权恶性集中。     

The film business in the United States and Britain during the 1930s1

The film business in the United States and Britain during the 1930s. Film was a most important product in the lives of the people during the 1930s. This article sets out to analyse the underlying economic arrangements of the film industries of the United States and Britain during the decade for producing and diffusing this commodity type to the population at large. It finds a highly competitive industry that was built around showing films that audiences wanted to see, irrespective of the extent of vertical integration. It also examines the nature of the relationship between the two industries and finds an asymmetry between the popularity of British films in the American market and that of American films in the British market. The explanation offered is that the efforts of British firms in the American market were not sufficiently sustained to make a significant impact on American audiences.     

Commercials,careers, and culture: travelling salesmen in Britain, 1890s–1930s*

Within the lower middle‐class, British commercial travellers established a strong fraternal culture before 1914. This article examines their interwar experiences in terms of income, careers, and associational culture. It demonstrates how internal labour markets operated, identifies the ways in which commercial travellers interpreted their role, and explores their social and political attitudes.     

Power to the people: working-class demand for household power in 1930s Britain

The 1930s witnessed an intense struggle between gas and electricity suppliers for the working class market, where the incumbent utility—gas—was also a reasonably efficient (and cheaper) General Purpose Technology for most domestic uses. Local monopolies for each supplier boosted substitution effects between fuel types—as alternative fuels constituted the only local competition. Using newly-rediscovered returns from a major national household expenditure survey, we employ geographically-determined instrumental variables, more commonly used in the industrial organization literature, to show that gas provided a significant competitor, tempering electricity prices, while electricity demand was also responsive to marketing initiatives.     

Macroeconomic policies and their impact on health in Zimbabwe in the 1980s and 1990s: An analysis of the prevalence of diarrhoea,malnutrition, maternal mortality and access to health services

The main objective of this article is to examine how the changes in macroeconomic policies have shaped health outcomes, particularly with regard to diarrhoea, malnutrition, maternal mortality and access to health services, and how these health outcomes vary by income, geographical location and gender. Macroeconomic policies in Zimbabwe have tended to shape health outcomes and they have also had an impact on trends in household income levels and access to health facilities. During the 1980s, the government's health policy 'Equity in health' led to increased access to health facilities. The policy of free health for low-income households made it possible for poorer groups to access health facilities more easily. However, the introduction of economic reform programmes popularly known as the Economic Structural Adjustment Programmes in Zimbabwe, has witnessed a massive shift in macropolicies. These policy changes have tended to affect the health sector in a negative manner. The introduction of user fees as a cost recovery measure and the rollback on government expenditure on social sectors, health included, have led to a reduction in the population able to access health facilities. Results of studies have shown a positive relationship between the prevalence of diarrhoea, malnutrition and access to health facilities with income levels, rural/urban location and gender.