Reducing the economic and human cost of layoffs

The deep recession of 1980–1982 caused many companies to face the prospect of large-scale work force reductions. Such cutbacks are costly for both the company and for the individuals affected. This article focuses on the outplacement efforts of the Ravenswood (West Virginia) Works of the Kaiser Aluminium & Chemical Corporation, using them as a model for organizing and managing similar programs.     

Profit-maximizing communities and the theory of local public expenditures: Comment

It is argued that Sonstelie and Portney's proof that property-value maximization by each local community leads to Pareto efficient supplies of public goods is incorrect. In their analysis, property-value maximization is equivalent to profit maximization by communities. They contend that less than maximum levels of profits would lead to lower utility levels for consumers. However, in their proof, Sonstelie and Portney do not correctly characterize the implications of utility maximization. When those implications are correctly stated, their proof no longer holds.     

Stabilität und Fortschritt: Das Problem der reicheren Länder

Ohne ZusammenfassungAus dem Englischen übersetzt von Vally Rothschild, Wien     

Schools as Self-Seeking Syndicates

Per capita school funding is a high-risk strategy. It would entrench the power of the schools as producers. Dr Dennis O'Keeffe of the Polytechnic of North London argues that schools must be responsive to the market.     

Sociocultural dimensions of tourism history

This paper explores some of the sociocultural issues that surround tourism history. It is contended that tourist activity is socially differentiated, but that this is by no means solely a product of prevailing class and related structural constraints. Instead, importance must be attached to the cultural setting within which activity is located and to the role of the consumer in creating new opportunities. Two case studies — plotland development and holiday camps — are used to demonstrate the thesis. Conclusions are drawn in respect of the study of tourism history, arguing for interdisciplinarity, for comparative research, and for further work on the inter-relationships between societal constraints and individual opportunities.