Absolute and Relative Deprivation and the Measurement of Poverty

This paper develops the link between poverty and inequality by focussing on a class of poverty indices (some of them well–known) which aggregate normative concerns for absolute and relative deprivation. The indices are distinguished by a parameter value that captures the ethical sensitivity of poverty measurement to "exclusion" or "relative–deprivation" aversion. The indices can be readily used to predict the impact of growth on poverty. An illustration using LIS data finds that the United States show more relative deprivation than Denmark and Belgium whatever the percentiles considered, but that overall deprivation comparisons of the four countries considered will generally depend on the intensity of the ethical concern for relative deprivation. The impact of growth on poverty also depends on the presence of and on the attention granted to concerns over relative deprivation.     

Competition, Financial Discipline and Growth

The interaction between domestic competition and economic growth of a country or region is a topic of intense policy debate. For example, in a highly-publicized book, Michael Porter (1990) strongly argues that there exists a positive causal relation between competition and growth, since competition at home forces firms to innovate and to be efficient.1 This "Darwinian" view of competition is supported by recent empirical evidence (e.g. Nickell (1996) or Blundell et al. (1995)) pointing at a positive correlation betweenn competition (measured eithe by the number of competitors in the same industry or by the inverse of a market share or profitability index) and productivity growth within a firm or industry.     

The prospect for gender diversity in Japanese employment

Economic growth during the second half of the twentieth century was not accompanied by an improvement in the position of women in the Japanese labour market. The peripheral position occupied by women was due, in large part, to the substantial barriers created by the internal labour market with its employment practices such as ‘lifetime’ employment, seniority promotion, and on-the-job training. In the past decade, the use of such practices has declined and the corresponding erosion of the internal labour market, coupled with a predicted skill shortage, was seen as an opportunity for women to gain a degree of equality in the workplace. Yet, the changes to the structure of the internal labour market have not been able to overcome the discriminatory work practices are that are embedded in the way work is organized. It is this contest that is explored and analysed in this paper.     

HRM in Japanese Enterprises: Trends and Challenges

The rise in thc Western concept of HRM parallels the global success of Japanese manufacturing enterprises. HRM in these firms emphasized an internal labour market and stable relationships between all stakeholders. The global environment may now require firms to shift to a more market-oriented approach. The evidence points to peripheral changes taking place but within the overall structure of traditional Japanese management. This gradualism has important implications for Western firms adopting the HRM paradigm. The context and configuration of HRM is the essence of Japanese managerial strategy. Failure of Western firms to recognize this will mean that HRM will lack a strategic focus and be unable to produce the desired outcomes.     

Japanese mergers and acquisitions: Overcoming obstacles to improved systemic efficiency

Foreign companies have shown a great interest in penetrating the Japanese market through the means of the acquisition of a Japanese firm. However, as of yet the number and size of deals remain very limited. A number of residual regulatory obstacles can partially explain the situation, but it seems that the main obstacle comes from the inherent characteristics of the Japanese environment (i.e., the labor market and employment practices, corporate governance, and general societal organizing principles). Japanese business is currently undergoing dramatic changes and there is a level of convergence of management practices with the West. Therefore, an increase in foreign acquisition activities can be expected in the forthcoming years. Nevertheless, if the overall business environment will be reformed and offer more opportunities, it is unlikely that those developments will follow the exact same patterns as in Western countries.     

Japanese trade unions at the crossroads: dilemmas and opportunities created by globalization

Japanese trade unions have contributed much to the economic stability and success of Japanese enterprises. Globalization has, however, placed substantial pressure on the Japanese industrial relations system and, in turn, upon the enterprise union system. Not all changes can be directly attributed to globalization. We contend, however, that the success of Japanese firms, both in exports and in overseas production, has made the Japanese economy reliant on a strong world economy. Economic downturns that have been witnessed in a number of countries in 1990s have weakened the demand for Japanese export products. This, in combination with the Japanese banking and financial crises, has created pressure for an overhaul of employment and human resource management systems. This article examines these pressures and the response by trade unions.