A Market Policy for Socialists?

Socialists ought to welcome the efficiency and freedom of choice that markets bring, and be wary of the deficiencies of the state, according to lan Forbes, lecturer in Politics at Southampton University. But the freedom of choice claimed by the 'New Right' thinkers for their economic system would itself be attenuated by the operation of markets. Market socialism thus requires an institutional pluralism of both market and non-market elements.     

Preference structure and piecemeal second best policy

This paper examines the question: When should prices in a subset of markets be set proportional to marginal costs even if other markets are distorted? The conditions on preferences and demand functions are derived; they are found to be weaker than have been required by previous authors.     

Interest rates in the U. S. and eurodollar markets

Zusammenfassung Zinss?tze in den USA und auf den Eurodollarm?rkten. — Diese Arbeit entwickelt eine Theorie der Gleichgewichts-Zinsdifferenzen zwischen heimischen und ausw?rtigen (Euro-) Zinss?tzen auf der Grundlage des zus?tzlich wahrgenommenen Risikos von Anlagen und Darlehen im Ausland und der h?heren Kosten der Regulierung, die mit dem Angebot dieser Anlagen und Darlehen im Inland verbunden sind. Kurzfristige Ver?nderungen der Zinsdifferenzen zwischen ausw?rtigen und heimischen M?rkten ergeben sich nach Ansicht der Autoren aus Unvollkommenheiten auf den heimischen M?rkten, wie z. B. einschr?nkenden Vorschriften und oligopolistischen Marktbedingungen. Empirische Tests für US- und Eurodollar-Zinss?tze für die Jahre 1974—1978 best?tigen die Hypothese, da\ die Eurodollar-S?tze schneller auf Ver?nderungen der Kreditbedingungen reagieren als die US-Bankraten.

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Résumé Les taux d’intérêt dans les marchés des E.U. et d’Eurodollar. — Cet article introduit une théorie de la différence d’équilibre entre les taux d’intérêt locaux et ?offshore? (Euro) sur la base du risque per?u supplémentairement des dép?ts et des prêts, et les frais plus hauts de régulation associés avec les dépℸs et les prêts offerts localement. Les auteurs arguent que les changements à court terme dans les différences des taux d’intérêt entre les marchés ?qoffshore? et locaux résultent des imperfections de marché local comme par exemple les restrictions régulatrices et les conditions de marché oligopolistique. Les tests empiriques avec les taux d’intérêt des E.U. et d’Eurodollar pour la période 1974–1978 supportent la hypothèse que les taux d’Eurodollar repondent plus rapidement aux changements dans les conditions de crédit que les taux des banques des E.U.

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Resumen Tasas de interés en los mercados de EEUU y del Eurodólar. — Este artículo proporciona una teoría del diferencial de equilibrio entre tasas de interés domésticas y ?offshore? (Euro) sobre la base de la percepci⤵ de riesgos adicionales para dep?sitos y préstamos ?offshore? y los costos de regulaci⤵ mayores asociados con la oferta doméstica de depósitos y préstamos. Cambios de corto plazo en las diferenciales de las tasas de interés entre mercados internos y ?offshore?, resultan, según los autores, de imperfecciones del mercado doméstico tales como restricciones regulatorias y condiciones oligopolísticas del mercado. Pruebas empíricas de las tasas de interés de los EEUU y del Eurodólar entre 1974 y 1978 sustentan la hipótesis, que las tasas del Eurodólar responden más rápidamente a cambios en las condiciones de crédito que las tasas bancarias de los EEUU.

     

Industrial relations law commentary: proposed changes in the law

Reform of the law dealing with industrial relations was one of the major election commitments of the Conservative Government. In this commentary, Karl Mackie and Ian Hooker analyse the Employment Bill and the Working Paper on Secondary Industrial Action.     

CAD—The‘Taylorisation’of drawing office work?

CAD has been described as a'Trojan horse'through which drawing office work will be deskilled. This article rebuts the crude Tayloris-ation thesis which underlines such views and offers an alternative analysis of the effects of CAD .     

R&D Performance of UK Companies

This short article compares the R&D performance of the major British R&D spenders with that of other major R&D spenders world-wide. A performance index is constructed which adjusts actual R&D for firm size and the R&D intensity of the firm's main area of business. According to these performance measures, the R&D performance of these British firms is better than is suggested by the share of R&D in Britain's GDP. However, the article identifies a gap in British R&D performance - what may be called a third rank of R&D spenders - who are rare in Britain, but very common in Japan and the USA.     

Japanisation as mythology

Manufacturing management texts describe ‘just-in-time’ production as an innovative paradigm for manufacturing control, originally developed in Japan, which when implemented by Western companies will enable them to remain internationally competitive. This article describes how manufacturing techniques observed in Japan have been radically modified to suit Western organisations, and discusses the significance of continuing to describe them as ‘Japanese’.     

Services in the new industrial economy

‘Manufacturing matters’,¹ but ‘So do services’. The future of industrialization is the future of both these increasingly intertwined and interdependent activities. Rather than a post-industrial society, we are seeing a new mode of industrialization encompassing and integrating manufacturing and services. This article considers the prospects for services in the new industrial economy,² focusing on innovation in services. Services have frequently been considered to be relatively poor in economic performance. However, regarding services as laggards is decreasingly useful when considering contemporary services, many of which are the major users, carriers and promoters of many classes of innovative hardware. New services (such as software and telematics) are performing vital roles in the diffusion of new technologies, techniques and organizational styles. This article outlines some trends in the service economy, examines the special nature of services, considers how services are changing their products and processes, and assesses emerging strategies for organization and trade in services.