The Decline of North American Industry

SUMMARY While the US has not suffered significant falls in either absolute industrial employment or output during the post?war period it has experienced a relative decline in manufacturing, commerce and finance. This decline is documented and three policy responses to industrial decline are discussed: non?tariff protectionism, bail?outs and labour cost reductions. SUMMARY Data are presented to show the relative decline in the Canadian manufacturing sector since 1960. The evolution of Canadian industrial policy in the post?war period is described and it is argued that the design of industrial policy instruments makes them ineffective for dealing with industrial decline. RESUMEN La declinación de la industria norteamericana: I Estados Unidos Aunque Estados Unidos no sufrió caídas significativas en el producto o empleo industrial en términos absolutos, las manufacturas, la construcción y las finanzas experimentaron una declinación relativa. Se proporcionan datos sobre este proceso y se examinan tres políticas para enfrentar el descenso industrial: proteccionismo no tarifario, subsidios y reducciones en los costos laborales. RESUMEN La declinación en la industria norteamericana: II Canadá Se presentan datos para ilustrar la declinación relativa que sufre el sector manufacturero canadiense desde 1960. Se describe la evolución de la política industrial del país en la postguerra y se argumenta que los instrumentos diseñados para implementarla la hacen ineficiente para enfrentar la declinación industrial. SOMMAIRE Le déclin de l'industrie Nord?Américaine: I les Etats Unis Alors que les Etats Unis n'ont pas été affectés par des chutes significatives de leurs productions ou de l'emploi dans le domaine industriel strict dans la période de l'après?guerre, ils ont néanmoins expérimenté un déclin relatif dans l'industrie, le commerce et la finance. Ce déclin est analysé et trois réponses politiques sont envisagées: le protectionnisme non?tarifaire, les diminutions des garanties et des coûts salariaux. SOMMAIRE Le déclin de l'industrie Nord?Américaine: II le Canada Présentation de données destinées a prouver le déclin relatif du secteur industriel depuis 1960. L'évolution de la politique industrielle canadienne dans la période de l'après?guerre est analysée, et l'auteur affirme que la structure même de la politique industrielle rend cette dernière inefficace dans la lutte contre ce déclin

Building Soils for Better Crops: Ecological Management for Healthy Soils

The 4th edition of Building Soils for Better Crops is a one-of-a-kind, practical guide to ecological soil management. It provides step-by-step information on soil-improving practices as well as in-depth background—from what soil is to the importance of organic matter. It will show you how different physical, chemical and biological factors of the soil interconnect, and how management practices impact them to make your soil healthy and resilient or unhealthy and vulnerable to degradation. Case studies of farmers from across the country provide inspiring examples of how soil—and whole farms—have been renewed through these techniques. A must-read for farmers, educators and students alike

The Informal Sector and the World Economy: Notes on the Structure of Subsidised Labour

SUMMARY The informal sector in Third World cities was initially identified as the mechanism by which the poor managed to survive under adverse conditions. Subsequent studies showed how interdependent informal activities were with those in the formal sector. Most studies interpreted this as evidence of the dependent and interstitial character of the informal economy. This paper argues that, from the point of view of structural arrangements, the opposite is more accurate. The informal sector provides a subsidy to formal sector consumption and cheapens labour costs directly when used in a ‘contract’ capacity by formal enterprises. RESUMEN El sector informal y la economia mundial : anotaciones en torno a la estructura de la mano de obra subvencionada El sector informal de las ciudades del tercer mundo se identifico en un principio como el mecanismo por el que lo pobre conseguían sobrevivir en condiciones adversas. Estudios posteriores mostraron la gran interdependencia entre las actividades informales y las del sector formal. Casi todos los estudios interpretaron este fenómeno como una prueba del carácter estrechamente dependiente de la economía informal. Este artículo se propone probar que, desde el punto de los elementos estructurales, lo contrario es más exacto. El sector informal ofrece una subvención al consumo del sector formal y abarata directamente los costes de la mano de obra cuando ésta se utiliza en una capacidad de “contrato” por parte de las empresas formales. RESUME Le secteur non?officiel et l'économie mondiale: remarques sur la structure de la main?d'oeuvre subventionnée Le secteur non officiel dans les villes du Tiers Monde était identifié initialement comme le mécanisme par lequel les pauvres parviennent à survivre dans des conditions adverses. Par la suite, des études ont montré comment des activités non officielles étaient inter?dépendantes avec celles du secteur officiel. La plupart des études interprétaient ceci comme l'évidence du caractère dépendant et interstitiel de l'économie non officielle. L'auteur affirme que, du point de vue des arrangements structurels, le contraire est plus exact. Le secteur non officiel fournit une subvention à la consommation du secteur officiel et abaisse le coût de la main?d'oeuvre directement lorsque des entreprises formelles y ont recours pour des travaux à facon

Theories of American Imperialism: A Critical Evaluation

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68828/2/10.1177_048661347400600303.pd

Agronomic and Economic Performance Characteristics of Conventional and Low-External-Input Cropping Systems in the Central Corn Belt

We conducted a 9-ha field experiment near Boone, IA, to test the hypothesis that yield, weed suppression, and profit characteristics of low-external-input (LEI) cropping systems can match or exceed those of conventional systems. Over a 4-yr period, we compared a conventionally managed 2-yr rotation system {corn (Zea mays L.)/soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.]} with two LEI systems: a 3-yr corn/soybean/small grain + red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) rotation, and a 4-yr corn/soybean/small grain + alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.)/alfalfa rotation. Synthetic N fertilizer use was 59 and 74% lower in the 3- and 4-yr systems, respectively, than in the 2-yr system; similarly, herbicide use was reduced 76 and 82% in the 3- and 4-yr systems. Corn and soybean yields were as high or higher in the LEI systems as in the conventional system, and weed biomass in corn and soybean was low (≤4.2 g m−2) in all systems. Experimentally supplemented giant foxtail (Setaria faberi Herrm.) seed densities in the surface 20 cm of soil declined in all systems; supplemented velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti Medik.) seed densities declined in the 2- and 4-yr systems and remained unchanged in the 3-yr system. Without subsidy payments, net returns were highest for the 4-yr system ($540 ha−1 yr−1), lowest for the 3-yr system ($475 ha−1 yr−1), and intermediate for the 2-yr system ($504 ha−1 yr−1). With subsidies, differences among systems in net returns were smaller, as subsidies favored the 2-yr system, but rank order of the systems was maintained

Calibration of Traffic Simulation Models using SPSA

Εθνικό Μετσόβιο Πολυτεχνείο--Μεταπτυχιακή Εργασία. Διεπιστημονικό-Διατμηματικό Πρόγραμμα Μεταπτυχιακών Σπουδών (Δ.Π.Μ.Σ.) “Γεωπληροφορική

The financialization of the non‐financial corporation. A critique to the financial turn of accumulation hypothesis

One aspect in which non-financial corporations (NFCs) are said to be financialized is that they have been increasingly engaged in financial accumulation from which they derive a growing proportion of financial income. This is what we call the financial turn of accumulation hypothesis. In this article, we show that the evidence used to sustain it, in the U.S. setting, has to be reconsidered. Our findings show that, contrary to the financial turn of accumulation hypothesis, financial income averages 2.5% of NFCs’ total income since the 1980s, oscillating since the beginnings of the 1990s until 2005 and then declining. In terms of assets, some of the alleged financial assets might actually reflect other activities in which NFCs have been increasingly engaged, such as tax avoidance, internationalization of production, activities refocusing and M&As

Prisoners of the Capitalist Machine: Captivity and the Corporate Engineer

This chapter will focus on how engineering practice is conditioned by an economic system which promotes production for profit and economic growth as an end in itself. As such it will focus on the notion of the captivity of engineering which emanates from features of the economic system. By drawing on Critical Realism and a Marxist literature, and by focusing on the issues of safety and sustainability (in particular the issue of climate change), it will examine the extent to which disasters and workplace accidents result from the economic imperative for profitable production and how efforts by engineers to address climate change are undermined by an on-going commitment to growth. It will conclude by arguing that the structural constraints on engineering practice require new approaches to teaching engineers about ethics and social responsibility. It will argue that Critical Realism offers a framework for the teaching of engineering ethics which would pay proper attention to the structural context of engineers work without eliminating the possibility of engineers working for radical change