Black immigrants in the U.S. labor market: An earnings analysis

This article investigates the existence and sources of earnings differentials between black Americans and black immigrants, and between black and nonblack immigrants. Employing the Public Use Sample of the 1980 census, the gross earnings differentials between black immigrants and black Americans are estimated to be 8.7 percent in favor of Americans (i.e., Americans earn 8.7 percent more than immigrants). About 2 percentage points and 6.7 percentage points of the gross differential are, respectively, due to differences in average characteristics and in returns to the characteristics. The gross differential between black and nonblack immigrants is 22.1 percent in favor of nonblack, of which 13.8 percentage points are due to differences in average characteristics and 8.3 are due to differences in returns to characteristics.     

Differential response to change: The case of home purchase

Evidence is provided in support of the hypothesis that younger households respond more rapidly than older households to a transformation in the environment. Differential response is expected since younger households have more time to amortize any investment undertaken in response to some change in the world, and they have less need to disinvest specific human capital attuned to the old environment. The application presented is the response by young and old households to changes in the environment surrounding housing markets.     

Removing export-credit subsidies to the Soviet bloc: Who gets hurt and by how much

Estimates of Soviet Bloc import elasticities and of the value of credit subsidies on loans to the bloc in 1981 are used in order to simulate the impact on OECD exports, if these subsidies had been eliminated in that year. The elasticity estimates indicate that price changes have little bearing on hard currency spent on a particular commodity by the Soviet Bloc. If subsidies had been eliminated in 1981, the total decline in OECD exports to the Bloc would have been less than 5%, and for any country, if proportionally distributed among suppliers, no more than 6%, no less than 2%.     

Value of External Reviews of Research at the International Agricultural Research Centers

The Consultative Groups on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) funds a decentralized system of International Agricultural Research Centers. To monitor the Centers, the CGIAR has instituted a system of program and management reviews. But there is some controversy concerning the proper role, cost, and impact of these reviews. In 1984 we conducted a survey of scientific and administrative staff at the Centers to elicit their perspectives about the benefits and costs of the reviews. We also canvassed the documentation prepared by the external review panels. In this paper we report some of the findings from this study and comment on what we feel is the proper role and scope for external reviews. In particular, we feel that the efficiency of the review process can be improved if external program reviews focus on strategic issues, leaving peer review functions aside. Greater integration should be sought between external reviews and the internal planning arid review mechanisms of the Centers. The successes achieved by this international system of research institutes should lead to considerable confidence about both the system's research and managerial capacity, though not all Centers have achieved uniformly high rates of productivity.     

Book review

New Technologies and Work: Capitalist and Socialist Perspectives A. Francis & P. Grootings (Eds) London, Routledge, 1989, 335 pp.

New Technology and Manufacturing Management: Strategic Choices for Flexible Production Systems M. Warner, W. Wobbe & P. Brodner (Eds) Chichester, Wiley, 1990, 265 pp.

The Single European Market and the Information and Communication Technologies Gareth Locksley (Ed.) London and New York, Belhaven Press, 1990, 290 pp., £27.50.

Technology and Competition in the International Telecommunications Industry David Charles, Peter Monk & Ed Sciberras London and New York, Pinter Publishers, 1989, 170 pp., £35.00.

Organising for Manufacturing Innovation: The Case of Flexible Manufacturing Systems Harry Boer Enschede, Febodruk, 1990, 253 pp.

Future Work: Seven Critical Forces Reshaping Work and the Work Force in North America Joseph F. Coates, Jennifer Jarratt & John B. Mahaffie Sun Francisco, CA, Jossey-Bass, 1990, 2 vols, 445 pp. & 120 pp., $49.50.

Science, Technology and Reparations: Exploitation and Plunder in Postwar Germany John Gimbel Stanford, CA, Stanford University Press, 1990, 280 pp., £29.50 (hbk).     

Applying marketing strategy to private source grantsmanship

As funding opportunities for research and program development continue to decrease, faculty and administrators must understand, to be competitive, that a large part of grantsmanship is marketing. This paper discusses the rationale for seeking grant support, how faculty can identify potential funding sources, and how to target the final submission of the proposal. Understanding these topics will assist faculty in developing those skills required for competing successfully in an increasingly competitive environment.     

The Economics of Training Nurses in the NHS

How should the training of nursing be reformed? Keith Hartley and Alan Shiell, of the University of York, argue that the ‘Project 2000’ plan has been accepted by the Government despite serious flaws.