RURAL SOCIOLOGY AND ITS RELEVANCE TO THE AGRICULTURAL ECONOMIST: A REVIEW*

Following a discussion of the relationship between agricultural economics and rural sociology, the current status of the latter is discussed, including the differences between European and American approaches. The background to an emerging ‘sociology of agriculture’ is described and recent developments in the sociological analysis of some of its constituent components are considered. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between landholding and the social structure and to the development of ‘agribusiness’ as a vertically-integrated food-production complex. The impact of these on labour relations in agriculture and on the rural community are outlined. The article concludes with an assessment of future trends in rural sociology, concentrating on themes of rural development, the sociology of agriculture and the sociology of natural resources.     

Strategic decision analysis: Applied decision analysis and its role in the strategic management process

This paper examines a role for applied decision analysis in the strategic management process. It is argued that decision analysis should be regarded both as a heuristic and a ‘thinking’ algorithm for decision structuring and problem diagnosis and, in addition, as an input to the process of policy dialogue. A policy dialogue paradigm using decision analysis is outlined, in which various viewpoints are reconciled by the questioning of analyses and assumptions. This dialogue paradigm is viewed as being compatible with approaches such as strategic assumptions analysis, which have been suggested in the literature as an aid for the processes of problem finding, formulation and solution.     

Challenges ahead E-innovation

This article systematically examines the recent efforts made by industry and academia in promoting E-innovation. It finds that industrial initiatives have been hindered by two limitations. One is a lack of an agreeable framework to accommodate the diversity of different usages. The other is a trend toward standardization in E-business applications. The academic efforts have been hindered by the lack of a mechanism to marry the distributed nature of E-innovation with the legacy of a traditional innovation. To overcome the barriers from both supply and demand sides, industrial efforts need to be more focused on figuring out how E-innovation emerges out of interconnectivity, while academic efforts should be more inclusive, so as to incorporate distributed innovation into enterprises’ shifting business operations. It is expected that this exploratory research will attract more systematic studies in establishing theories and developing techniques related to E-innovation.     

Managing Health and Finance: Conflict or Congruence?

National Health Service trusts are required to report publicly on two distinct aspects of their activities: finance and patient care. Financial information is included in an annual report and accounts, while patient care performance is released in league tables as part of the Patient's Charter. This article discusses the background to the different measures and reports managerial reactions to them. It reports on a comparison of the results of a sample of NHS trusts in these two separate fields, which found no correspondence between financial and patient care performance. This finding is used to illuminate the role of such information in the process of accountability, drawing comparisons with the private sector.     

HOME OWNERSHIP AND THE WEALTH POSITION OF BLACK AND WHITE AMERICANS*

This paper examines the wealth position of blacks relative to whites, on the basis of data in the Survey of Economic Opportunity. The analysis indicates that at the same levels of both income and wealth blacks consistently invest more in consumer durables, especially housing, than do whites. The paper then explores possible explanations for this finding, suggesting that these investment differences are not solely due to the income and wealth position of blacks, but may be due to a smaller set of investment opportunities institutionally fostered by discriminatory forces.     

Using simulated mergers to evaluate corporate diversification strategies

This study suggests that simulated mergers can be used to help evaluate the effects of diversification on corporate performance. The results, which are consistent with a risk-reduction motive for conglomerate diversification, imply that conglomerate strategies focused on fewer and larger units may be advantageous in terms of certain measures of risk and return. Forecast error is used here to measure strategic risk, and return on equity is used to measure return.     

The structure and management of dual purpose funds

Dual fund shares allow individuals to satisfy their divergent preferences for the ordinary income and the capital gains components of return. Institutional restrictions on short selling are shown to permit discounts on dual funds to fluctuate within wide bounds. However, these fluctuations are shown to be consistent with informational efficiency. The average discount is shown to have a contemporaneous association with net redemptions of diversified open-end funds. It is shown that the high turnover of dual fund portfolios is not warranted by their portfolio performance and causes redistributions of wealth between income and capital shareholders.