Intergenerational Equity and Resource Use

Abstract . Is it “fair” for one generation to use up, wholly or to a degree, resources which cannot be replaced? By evaluating projects involving non-replaceable resources with discount rates are future benefits undervalued?Discounted net present value is found to be a poor allocator of scarce resources. Another choice rule, Page and Ferejohn's Dominance Rule, also contains flaws. A “partitioned” approach, dividing the time horizon into sections, is an improvement and has advantages. While this third approach has basic uncertainties, it may be used to meet nondeferrable decisions while problems of equity and preference are being studied.     

Henry George and the Ethics of Economics

Abstract . Henry George's Progress and Poverty (1879) is a great ethical masterpiece. Its moral tone distinguishes the book. More than an economics test, it is a philosophic quest for justice, an impassioned declaration of the rule of natural law. Indignantly attacking the contention that economics has no place for natural law or ethics, George exclaims: “She [economics] has been degraded and shackled; her truths dislocated; her harmonies ignored.” On the contrary, George stresses, political economy (economics) is a science, and like all sciences, is governed by natural law. Furthermore, it is basically “moral.” Science must, of necessity, always lead to ethics. Natural law must, of necessity, always lead to morality, or justice.“The law of human progress, what is it but the moral law?” George asks. “Unless its foundation be laid in justice the social structure cannot stand.” The social ill that perpetuates poverty and the manifold evils it causes is private ownership of land and the private privilege of collecting its rent. “The fundamental law of nature, that the enjoyment by man shall be consequent upon his exertion, is thus violated.”     

Transition towards and of sustainability—Understanding sustainability as performative

Our purpose is to explore the concept of “sustainability” when understood from a performative perspective, i.e. as a concept that is filled with meaning across time. Drawing on a 10 year-long study of the digital footprint of Stockholm Royal Seaport, claimed to be northern Europe's largest sustainable urban development district, we show that “sustainability” emerged as the project became associated with particular places, projects, histories, and technologies. This means that “sustainability” was local in that it was situated in the particular spatial context of the project; temporal in that it was situated in a particular time; and political in that it expressed particular values and perspectives. The study contributes to explaining why “sustainability” remains—and always will remain—a contested concept, which is why sustainability transitions are complex. Consequently, we suggest that the transition towards sustainability always involves the transition of sustainability, something that needs to be acknowledged in order for a transition to actually become sustainable.     

Public Choice and Urban Water Quality*

Abstract . It is the purpose of this paper to examine critically the choice of “zero discharge” as me ultimate goal of our federal water pollution policy and to demonstrate that a goal of 90 percent removal of pollutants from effluents of urban areas will be more economically efficient. Our results indicate that in reaching “Zero discharge,” there is a minimal return in water quality for urban areas which are located on large bodies of water. The final conclusion is that the substantial resources, which would be required to surpass the level of 90 percent removal of pollutants, could be employed more effectively in other social programs.     

Henry George and Europe

Abstract . Michael Flürscheim, an industrialist, sought in 1885 to organize in Germany a society of land reformers. Only 20 responded to his call. Soon afterwards two journalists, did respond and organized a group called the Land League. It disbanded in 1887. A. T. Stamm, who had previously tried to start an organization he called “The Society for Humanism,” then sought to form a society, “The All-Weal Union.” These efforts came to naught until Flürscheim launched in Frankfort the “German Union for Land Ownership Reform.” It gained 600 members. It was called by a government official, Wilhelm Schrameier, himself a land reformer, “a small sect.” But these educational efforts convinced officials of the imperial government and navy of the usefulness of the land value tax for ending land speculation and provided for 16 years a practical demonstration of that in a large colonial territory, Kiaochow, China.     

On Perennial Re-examination of the U.S. Constitution

Abstract . The United States Constitution is still shrouded in myths, clothed in broad terms and garbed with ambiguities. These require constant reinterpretation. If a continuing constitutional convention is thus endemic to the American political system, then is it, as Jefferson said, “a mere thing of wax in the hands of the judiciary”? Justice Jackson wrote that “we are infallible only because we are final,” but it is a maxim of American politics that the Court follows the election returns. In the last analysis, there is a higher court in a republican democracy, the Court of Public Opinion (of which scholars and publicists are the officers) which achieves revision by periodic reinterpretation and re-examination.     

Information Management and Incentives

We ask how the incentives of an agent are affected by an information management system that lets the agent receive information about the performance of a colleague before (“transparent firm”) rather than after he provides effort (“nontransparent firm”). Transparency is detrimental for incentives if the performance of the colleague provides information on the relative impact of the agent’s effort on his success probability. The findings imply that firms in which comparisons between employees play a minor role for compensation are transparent. Firms in which they play a major role sometimes choose to be nontransparent despite the flexibility gains transparency provides.     

Discrimination and Favoritism in the U.S. Labor Market: The Cost to a Wage Earner of Being Female and Black and the Benefit of Being Male and White

Abstract . The hypothesis that Black female wage earners face greater wage discrimination than their White female or Black male counterparts is supported by evidence derived from a version of a widely used method for decomposing wage differentials. This version allows one to measure both the “cost” of being a female or Black wage earner and the “benefit” of being a male or White wage earner. The approach yields a model which is validated by testing with Census Bureau samples (n_1,2,3,4= 23,800). The empirical test indicates that when skills are fairly comparable, the Black female earns an average wage nearly 21 percent lower than the White male average, whereas the White female's average was 15.5 percent lower. It suggests that being female has a relatively greater impact on Black female wages than being Black.     

Peddling in the Antebellum Economy: Precursor of Mass-Marketing or a Start in Life?

Abstract . This article examines the effect of peddling upon industrialization and economic development and the evolution of institutional arrangements in marketing in the Antebellum period. After 1840 peddling in America was undertaken, to an increasing extent, by newly arrived immigrants from Germany who displaced the traditional “Yankees” from the trade. The relationship between peddling and the development of entrepreneurship is explored, along with the special opportunities that peddling provided for economic and occupational mobility in the American milieu. The frequency with which individuals who started careers as peddlers rose to prominence in the fields of merchandising and finance points to the importance of the “schooling” function of this institution for newly arrived immigrants in American folkways, business practices, and commercial possibilities.     

Project Management Knowledge and Effects on Construction Project Outcomes: An Empirical Study

This study examines the relationships among the PMBOK® Guide, project performance, customer satisfaction, and project success by assessing the efficacy of management techniques, tools, and skills for implementing infrastructure and building construction. Experienced interviewees from private engineering firms and public agencies were asked to complete a questionnaire, and the responses were analyzed by means of a structural equation model. The analytical results indicate the appropriateness of prioritizing the practice of the PMBOK® Guide in the construction industry. This study contributes to the literature by providing insight into interactions among the PMBOK® Guide and construction project outcomes in engineering practices. Particularly, the “bidder's conference” and “procurement negotiations” are the priority techniques to minimize bidding and legal procurement problems. Moreover, the study recommends the use of “stakeholder analysis,” “communication requirements analysis,” and the “communication methods” to perform effective communication management. Although the conclusions are based on the sample collected in Taiwan, the research findings can be used by project managers and educators to tailor the PMBOK® Guide to their unique needs and to design effective training programs for construction specialists.     

Ramsey Pricing: A Method for Setting Fees in Social Service Organizations

Abstract . In non-profit social services, there is a tendency to avoid setting prices because of the distributional concerns and incompetence on the part of some consumers. Arguments for prices and cash transfers versus in-kind subsidies are reviewed. The appropriateness is examined of “Ramsey pricing” in achieving efficient resource allocation in a zero-profit firm when marginal cost pricing would lead to a profit. A survey of social service agencies in Ontario, Canada, found none was using the principles of “Ramsey pricing” and most were using no fees or prices at all. Some agencies had set prices but then waived them while others set fees equivalent to services provided by nonsocial service agencies. Most view fees as supplemental additions to the budget and consequently do not consider resource allocation. “Ramsey pricing,” it is believed, could be beneficially tried by social service agencies.     

Henry George and the Classical Scientific Research Program: George's Modification of It and His Real Significance for Future Generations

Abstract . Henry George's revision of classical economics was based on a new “hard core” assumption linking efficiency, equity, and social welfare to a revised concept of property rights in land. However, rather than create new core supporting “protective belt” theories, George either accepted or, when necessary, modified existing classical theories especially those which threatened his new hard core, for example, classical “wages-fund” theory. Consequently, George's adaptation of the Ricardian “stationary state” model was less accurate than mainstream classical economics in its predictions concerning the behavior of the distributive shares of income over time, and the effects of technological change on economic growth and economic welfare. Without its own protective belt, George's classicism became a special case of classical economics whose value, nevertheless, existed in its effective criticism of classical property rights theory.     

The NCAA: A Socio-economic Analysis: The Development of the College Sports Cartel from Social Movement to Formal Organization.

Abstract . Economic cartel theory and Sociological social movement theory are used to achieve a socio-economic analysis of the problems and behaviour of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It is demonstrated that both cartel theory and social movement theory predict substantially similar behavior on the part of the NCAA and its 800-plus member institutions. Specific issues such as “need”scholarships, the possibility that the” big-time”football powers, may leave the NCAA, and the NCAA's relation with women's athletics, are considered. It is concluded that the NCAA is not likely to persist is an organization in its current form.

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The criticality of risk factors in customer relationship management projects

Customer relationship management (CRM) remains an area of considerable interest in contemporary project management literature, due to its association with high failure rates. This research examined the criticality of four risk factors. Quantitative data analyzed using PASW17 were collected from a sample of 250 CRM project practitioners. Although we found strong evidence to support the focus on these risk factors, which include “user training,” “top management support,” “business strategy and technology alignment,” and “effective project feedback,” the authors found that, although some risk factors may be identified as “critical,” their criticality is dependent on the context of the project.     

Quality of Life, Quality of the Individual, Technology and Economic Development

Abstract . Technological advance, quality of life and quality of the person as well as the interaction among them are at the heart of a meaningful theory of socioeconomic development. The complexity and hierarchical structure of the quality of life concept can be related to Maslow's study of human needs and economists’theory of human wants. The implicit assumption of the direct positive relationship between quality of life and quality of the person is challenged. The possibility of an inverse relationship between them is stated and illustrated. If the ultimate purpose of improving quality of life is moral perfection (homo humanis), then optimal quality of life is one which leads to attainment of this goal. Freedom, seen by Maslow as a necessary precondition for satisfaction of all other needs, is defined as voluntary subjection to the highest value. The search for truth—the only way to set a person free—takes the form of Hegelian dialectics. Theoretically, the high quality of people can be attained either by “Hegelian path” via coercion, or “Hegelian path” via freedom. Historically, the former utterly failed, while the latter, though highly desirable, is neither impossible nor assured.     

Management “flavours of the month”: their role in managers' lives

Existing analyses and critiques of the succession of management fads and fashions entering managerial discourse and activities are complemented and developed by drawing on participant observation research carried out in an organization utilizing a variety of “packaged innovations”. It is shown that what are sometimes mocked as “flavours of the month” (FOMs) play a role in the double-controlproblem faced by all managers: the problem of managing their personal identities, careers and understandings at the same time as contributing to the overall control of the organization in which they are managers. Managers in the organization studied are shown generally to be critical of the “flavour of the month effect” but there is nevertheless an equivocality about how such ideas and practices can function.     

Exogenous uncertainty and the identification of structural vector autoregressions with external instruments

We provide necessary and sufficient conditions for the identification (point‐identification) of structural vector autoregressions (SVARs) with external instruments considering the case in which r instruments are used to identify g structural shocks of interest, r ≥ g ≥ 1. Novel frequentist estimation methods are discussed by considering both a “partial shocks” identification strategy, where only g structural shocks are of interest and are instrumented, and a “full shocks” identification strategy, where despite g structural shocks being instrumented, all n=g+(n?g) structural shocks of the system can be identified under certain conditions. The suggested approach is applied to investigate empirically whether financial and macroeconomic uncertainty can be approximated as exogenous drivers of US real economic activity, or rather as endogenous responses to first moment shocks, or both. We analyze whether the dynamic causal effects of nonuncertainty shocks on macroeconomic and financial uncertainty are significant in the period after the global financial crisis.     

The Male-Female Comparable Worth Debate: Alternative Economics Perspectives on an Issue That Cuts Across the Social Sciences

Abstract . Writers and speakers on the “comparable worth” or “pay equity” issue refer to “the economic view” but there is no such consensus. Three major paradigms exist in labor economics, the neoclassical, the “radical” or Marxian or Neomarxian, and the institutional Each differs in philosophical orientation, employs different analytical methods, and leads to different policy implications. On the issue of pay equity for women their views are contrasted; differences center on how successfully the market extends full options of choice. The analysis indicates that incremental advances in the direction of pay equity are to be expected, given present incentives in the private sector and less economic constraints in the public sector, provided women continue economic, legal, and political pressure. Surveying The Literature on the comparable worth or pay equity debate, one often encounters reference to the economic view. In reality however, three major paradigms exist in labor economics today; the prevailing neoclassical paradigm, the radical or Marxian view, and the institutional approach. While the three can be viewed as sharing common objectives (to describe, to predict, and to prescribe) they approach issues from different philosophical frameworks, employ different analytical tools, and lead to very different policy implications. Examining the pay equity issue from the perspectives of the three paradigms suggests different insights into the issue than that usually labelled the economic view.     

Guanxi Management in Lean Production System—An Empirical Study of Taiwan‐Japanese Firms

While the emphasis in the West is on “what you know” refers to technological expertise, including the price and quality of tendered product or service, the emphasis in Confucian societies is on “who you know,” which refers to personal connections with the appropriate authorities or individuals. These connections are known in Chinese as guanxi, on which as the basis Chinese exchange a lifetime of favors, resources, and business leverage. This study seeks to study guanxi mechanism, the unique Chinese social‐cultural element and its impact on the managerial effectiveness of Taiwanese firms with lean implementation in practice, and an empirical study is constructed to verify our proposal. Results suggest that guanxi and its networks function as the lubrication that eases interpersonal conflicts and as the buffer in solving problems, which in turn upgrades the cooperative efficiency both inter‐ and intragroups. This article provides an inner view of cultural value, which offers insights that should prove helpful to academics in management and related disciplines as well as to practitioners engaged in Chinese production management.     

Location Decisions of Competing Networks

Early entrants in markets with network effects usually occupy a “central location” and serve agents with “intermediate tastes,” whereas later entrants are niche players. Why would the first entrant choose to become a “general” network, given that later entrants will not have enough room for differentiation, resulting in a more intense competition for market share? In a Hotelling model with two rival networks, we show that for intermediate values of the network externality parameter the location equilibrium is indeed asymmetric: the first entrant locates at the center whereas the second entrant chooses an extreme (niche) location.