THE EFFECTS OF NON-CLEARING LABOR MARKETS ON THE DEMAND FOR PUBLIC SPENDING

The median-voter model suggests the causal sequence: distribution → spending → bureaucracy, whereas the bureaucratic model proposes the chain: bureaucracy → spending → distribution. In the presence of labor-market distortions and underemployment labor contracts, we argue that an initial link must be added to each causal chain; namely, the excess supply of labor in the private sector. Empirical estimates of both the median-voter and bureaucratic models indicate that inter-country differences in per-capita public spinding are an increasing function of differences in wage rates.     

The Genesis of American Capitalism: an Historical Inquiry into State Theory

Abstract We usually think that we know what 'the state' is, even when we embark on a theoretical quest for it. Somehow, the state is closely associated with Government - including bureaucracy and army. Or we sometimes think of it differently, in terms of city-state or nation-state. I had the first notion in mind when I started to research the socioeconomic context of the making of the U.S. constitution. But the historical research forced me to face the vagueness of the concept, and to recognize that it is not only useless, but actually harmful in our understanding of modern societies. This paper is made-up of three parts: the historical narrative of U.S. constitution-making is sandwiched between, first, a deconstruction of the concept of state and, third, an attempt at establishing a new concept of state. I discard along the way the dichotomies of state/civil society and base/superstructure. And I argue for a close integration of theory and history in social analysis.     

Urban Natives and the Nation: Before and After the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples*

Cet article étudie la relation entre la formation de L'État canadien et la construction des identités amérindiennes, au moyen de la fonction légitimante des commissions d'enquête, pour la période allant de la Loi constitutionnelle, 1982 au rapport de la Commission royale sur les peuples autochtones en 1996. Nous examinons, en particulier, dans quelle mesure le rapport de la CRPA « normalise » des narratifs de politique amérindienne déjà présents, les stabilisant en une hiérarchie rigide de revendications qui s'appuie sur le modèle de la nation. L'analyse se concentre sur le positionnement problématique des Amérindiens urbains et des Indiens sans statut face à la « nation », ce qui mène à leur marginalisation dans les débats politiques actuels. This paper examines the relationship between Canadian state formation and the construction of Aboriginal identities via the legitimating function of the public inquiry, for the period from the adoption of the Constitution Act, 1982 to the Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (1996). Specifically, we examine the extent to which the RCAP Report “normalizes” pre‐existing narratives regarding Aboriginal politics into a rigid hierarchy of claims privileging the nation model and those Aboriginals with a land base. We argue that the nation model is reinforced, legitimized and publicized through the RCAP Report's function as a legitimating tool of the state.     

Can Multinational Corporations Afford to Ignore the Global Common Good?1

Contemporary advances in the fields of globalization and technologies raise the question of the relationship between international business and the global common good. Half of the hundred biggest economies in the world are now corporations. Nation‐states were traditionally viewed as the guarantors of the common good; however, the current historical stage is marked by the waning of the role of government, and reveals an emerging situation characterized by a co‐responsibility of multiple agents in this respect. Three major evolutions are likely to induce multinational corporations (MNCs) to take the global common good into account: the imperative of the preservation of our biosphere, the rise of an anti‐globalization sentiment with all its potential consequences, and the necessity to design a global social contract. Besides, these three phenomena are interconnected, which adds to the pressure on MNCs to change their policies.     

Calendar of events

Abstract. Counterbalancing is a new method of forecasting that reduces the systematic component of forecasting error. A graphical interpretation of the method is presented. This intuitive approach reveals the need for variable as opposed to fixed equal weights. The method is expanded to counterbalancing with variable weights, resulting in further reductions in forecasting error. Important applications include (1) power system hourly load forecasting for economic dispatch, (2) information feed forward in continuous process control, and (3) forecasting for scheduling, just in time manufacturing, sales, and distribution requirements planning in global logistics.