Voting cycles and the structure of individual preferences

Empirical studies have shown that cyclical preferences are infrequent, but they have been less clear about why. Using thermometer ratings from nationally-representative samples of the U.S., we examine preferences for presidential candidates in order to determine what it is about them that leads to few cycles. Single-peaked preferences as usually construed (meaning that all of a set of preferences satisfy single-peakedness criteria) are, of course, rare. Yet we find a high degree of unidimensionality in the sense that for any given set of preferences, a relatively high proportion of the preference orders are consistent with single-peakedness. We also find that the highest amounts of unidimensionality often do not occur along partisan or left/right lines. Strong feelings for or against candidates, often not derived from an issue base, form the basis for the dimensionality discovered.We would like to thank Daniel Severance for programming the random model calculations and three anonymous referees, whose comments were very helpful in clarifying the presentation in this paper.     

Public policy in a multicultural Australia

The debate on the consequences of large-scale immigration in the making of public policy began in 1968. Muliculturalism is for all Australians and any social policy designed for the benefit of one group in the population must have profound consequences on all people. 40% of the Australian population was born overseas or have at least 1 parent born overseas. Almost 1/4 of the population has ethnic roots in other than the Anglo-Celtic majority. The ideal of moral progress, greater equality, and improvement is the motive force in society. The presence of social heterogeneity--religious or ethnic--is linked with the issue of stability in a democratic system. There are 2 models of multiculturalism and corresponding public policy approaches. 1 model emphasizes the role of the political processes in Australian ethnic relations and sees ethnic structures (political, social, economic) as legitimate but separate interest groups, each having the exclusive responsibility for the realization of ethnic goals. The leading feature of this model is the structural fragmentation of Australian society into parallel segments of varying degrees of exclusiveness each with its own "ethnic" label. The 2nd model stresses the priority of the wholeness and welfare of the entire society. It assumes that a society based on satisfaction of individual needs through voluntary exchange is fertile ground for cultural enrichment. The goal is cohesion and unity in living together in Australia, seen as of central concern and consistent with the ideals of intercultural understanding and improved communication. The model assumes that the culture must be seen as a living, dynamic, changing, and interacting set of life patterns. The author prefers the 2nd model which stresses that the future vision of a multicultural Australia must be a shared one because only then can cultural diversity and national cohesion coexist within the 1 economic and political unit.     

The employment effects of immigration: a balance sheet approach

The impact of immigration on unemployment in Canada is examined for the period 1983-1985. The authors attempt to construct a balance sheet of immigration in terms of labor supply and demand. They conclude that immigrants create more jobs than they fill, and that their net effect on the employment situation is positive. (SUMMARY IN FRE AND SPA)     

Book reviews

Nathan Glazer Ethnic Dilemmas Harvard, Harvard University Press. 1985

Giddens, Anthony The Constitution of Society, Berkeley, University of California, 1985, pp.XXXVII, 402. Notes, glossary, diagrams, bibliographic notes and index.

Jeremy Rifkin Declaration of a Heretic. Boston. London, Melbourne and Henley, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1985, pp.X,140.

Ted Benton The Rise and Fall of Structural Marxism: Althusser and his Influence, New York, St.Martin's Press, 1984, pp. VII,259.

Raymond L. Garthoff Détente and Confrontation Washington, The Brookings Institution, 1985, pp.XVI,1126.

Joseph J. Collins The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan. A Study in the Use of Force in Soviet Foreign Policy, Massachusetts/Toronto, D.C. Heath and Company/Lexington, 1986, pp. XV, 195.

Jan Shipps Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition, Chicago, University of Illinois Press, 1985, pp.211.

Robert Jay Lifton Home from the War: Vietnam Veterans: Neither Victims nor Executioners, New York, Basic Books, 1985, pp.478     

Production strategy decisions a simulation model approach

Model building in physical, statistical, simulation or other form, is making an increasing contribution to the problem solving methodology in economics, industry, government, and technological development (1). More specifically, in the present context, simulation models can offer a distinctive and valuable contribution to the understanding by management of complex business systems, interactions and environment and indicate ways toward improvement, financial and otherwise (2). The advent of powerful computers in the last few years is the decisive factor which has decided the means of realizing the full potential of simulation models, hitherto unattainable because of the vast amount of data processing and calculation required. The purpose of this article is to indicate the approach to and scope of a computerized simulation model for long term production strategy decision making (3). While the model relates to the system and data of a specific production unit, manufacturing electronic components, the principles are widely applicable in any size and type of company. It is not a specifically large company technique.     

Redefining the board's role in fiscal planning

Board approval of an operating budget, a traditional exercise of board authority, can trivialize board leadership and stultify managerial prerogatives. Considered within a new governance paradigm, conventional budget approval is not only unnecessary, but dysfunctional. This article argues that boards should proactively establish policy for financial planning and then require administrative budgeting throughout the year to meet the policy criteria. The result is that boards stay focused on the bigger issues, particularly program priorities and goals, leaving managers the authority to create and adjust budgets within policy boundaries.