Showing papers on "Economic problem published in 1972"

Property Rights and Economic Theory: A Survey of Recent Literature

Abstract: AS CRITICISM of the traditional theory of production and exchange has mounted in the postwar period, increasing attention has been given to new analytical approaches that seek either to supplant classical marginalism or to extend its scope. In the latter category is the important body of literature that has grown up around the notion of property rights structures. The contributions here are quite diverse in style and content but are characterized by a common emphasis on certain basic ideas concerning the interconnectedness of ownership rights, incentives, and economic behavior. The purpose of the present paper is to summarize the essential features of this line of research, examine some of its important areas of application, and discuss the promise the approach holds for improved understanding of economic problems.

The Uses of Foreign Policy in Indonesia An Approach to the Analysis of Foreign Policy in the Less Developed Countries

Abstract: Most of the writing on foreign policy in the less developed countries stresses either the importance of idiosyncratic sources of policy or the identification of a number of relatively long-term factors which influence the formation of policy. These studies are helpful in many ways, but in one important respect they are unsatisfying. They do not give us a clear picture of how foreign policy relates to the political and economic problems that constitute the essence of being a less developed country.

The Ceylon Insurrection of April 1971: Some Causes and Consequences

Abstract: IN MANY RESPECTS the political development of Ceylon provides a model in the evolution of states from dependence to independence and in the stages through which their post-independence politics pass. As a colony the island passed from unrestricted Governor's rule, through representative government (I924) to semi-responsible government (i93i) to responsibility and independence (1948). After independence it went through a decade of bourgeois-liberal rule, laissez-faire economic policies and elitist control of politics and administration. This lasted until the electoral revolution of I956 brought in the second phase of cultural (or communal) nationalism. This was a turbulent period when religious and communal divisions rent the nation and economic factors were subservient to linguistic, religious and cultural aspirations. After almost a decade of such politics the country was called upon to pay the bill for such indulgence, as well as to re-examine its nationalism and its cultural ethos and build the nation on more permanent and less divisive foundations. After a baptism of fire in the communal riots of I958 and a few more years of futile communal bickering, economic factors became dominant and by their sheer weight attracted the attention of the country. Communal politics now gave way to politics based on economic and social philosophies and to something approaching the classical Western divisions between political left and right. Well known communalists and communal parties now scurried for cover in the new alignment under the umbrella of one or the other of these groups.' The basic economic problems were also familiar and here too the island was, though less desirably, a model2-a colonial economy unable and unwilling to make the transition into a world where colonial trading patterns (and the prices dictated by these patterns) had broken down. Furthermore, with an Asian birth-rate and a "European" death-rate, Ceylon's economic growth

Burmese Socialism: Economic Problems of the First Decade

Abstract: Wl THEN THE BURMESE MILITARY seized power from the civilians in March i962 and established a revolutionary socialist government, a sense of relief prevailed in the harassed business community and among many foreign observers. Their expectations were derived from the order and discipline, combined with moderation in economic policy, which had previously been introduced by the military during the period of its temporary stewardship as a Caretaker Government in preparation for the national elections in i960. Although the Revolutionary Council's prompt policy declaration ("The Burmese Way to Socialism") stated its clear resolution "to march unswervingly" towards socialism, the rhetoric seemed merely to echo the socialist aspirations which have been a universal aspect of Burma's modern political heritage.' The Revolutionary Council leaders rapidly demonstrated, however, that they were not content with a mere reiteration of the socialist prescription, as they shattered the hopes of the bourgeois community with sweeping measures of nationalization over the next several years. This article briefly examines the reasons for the sharp change in economic practice, the Revolutionary Government's unique economic objectives, and, by means of a study of the rice economy, the degree of success in achieving socialist goals during the first decade of the new regime. The Burmese economy in the early i960's was a disappointment of the optimistic expectations which existed at the time of independence. The faith in Burma's inherent natural wealth, coupled with the belief that the economic surplus under colonialism had been drained off in massive remittances to India and England, contributed to the notion that economic prosperity would be a corollary of independence. It was believed then that rapid rehabilitation of the economy was possible and the country could progress towards a welfare state with social justice and economic plenty for all citizens of the Union.2 The purely economic goals, however, were not

Labour Problems in Rhodesia: A Trade Union Viewpoint

Abstract: A symposium paper on economic problems in Rhodesia from the perspective of a white trade unionist. Paper originally presented at Symposium on: Current Economic Problems in Rhodesia, 2nd November 1972.

Japan's Economy in the 1970s: Implications for the World

Abstract: B Y THE LATE i960'S, the West was becoming aware of the tremendous economic strides made by Japan in the quarter century since World War II. A number of publications offered various interpretations of Japan's success. Herman Kahn's book, The Emerging Japanese Superstate, provided a glimpse into the future and concluded-to the surprise of most and to the alarm of some-that Japan's per capita income might exceed that of the U. S. by i990 and her GNP become the largest of any country in the world by the year 2000. While the details of that and other analytical works on Japan have been debated, few contest the proposition that the Japanese economy will continue to grow at a relatively rapid rate, and that sooner or later Japan is likely to challenge the U. S. position of pre-eminent economic power. Japan's stunning success in increasing its U. S. market share in a number of manufactured products and the fact that the Japanese yen was greatly undervalued in relation to the dollar and other currencies were no doubt important considerations behind President Nixon's New Economic Policy of August I97I. The first international phase of the NEP ended on December i8 in a major realignment of world currencies, including a nearly I7 per cent appreciation of the yen against the dollar. In February I972, a trade agreement between the U. S. and Japan was intended to improve opportunities for U. S. exports to Japan. Before and even during those momentous events, the Japanese themselves were confronting various structural problems in their economy arising from the very nature and speed of recent economic growth. It appears that economic measures now being adopted will go far to alleviate those structural difficulties and at the same time cause Japan to take a somewhat more independent posture with respect to the world economy. This article assesses the implications of these changes for the world. As Japan entered the decade of the I970's, structural economic problems unlike any others encountered in the post-war period began to appear. Orthodox monetary policy which had proved so successful during the i960's had

Labour Problems in Rhodesia: An Employer's Viewpoint

Abstract: A symposium paper on labour problems in Rhodesia from the view of the employees, originally presented at symposium on: Current Economic Problems in Rhodesia, 2nd November 1972.

Minimum Wages in the Construction Industry

Abstract: of economist-statesmen like Ranade to foster collectivism as a solution for India's economic problems. Also, he stresses the deep impact of the Russian revolution and the Bolshevik experiments on Indian leaders. He also speaks of the pragmatic .socialism of Nehru. Though, he touches upon this question at a number of places, he does not formulate it consistently.

Economics, transport planning and the environment

Abstract: Environmental quality is recognized as a proper objective of transport planning presenting extremely difficult technical design problems. But it also presents essentially economic problems in the husbanding of scarce resources and in the selection amongst alternative possibilities. The solution of these problems can best be achieved if environmental objectives can be identified, quantified, projected and evaluated with sufficient precision for them to be incorporated in a formal design criterion. Research is now being developed to this end. There are limitations, both logical and practical, to the development of this approach. But, so long as these are properly appreciated, quantification and economic evaluation are not competitive with design skills but are proper complements to them.

The Economy — a Study in Failure

Abstract: For the British economy, the sixties were years of bitter disappointment. The real failure of Governments lay not so much in their economic policies as in their extravagant claims of omnicompetence. A credulous public was led to expect El Dorado, found only plenty, and became understandably dissatisfied. Some of the economic problems were found to be intractable. Others could be disposed of, like the heads of the hydra, only at the cost of creating more numerous and more horrifying new ones. Each of the problems became more serious as the decade wore on. The traditional instruments to deal with them seemed less and less effective. The battery of new devices rarely improved upon the old.

Conditions and objectives of african economic development

Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the conditions and objectives of African economic development. A fundamental objective of the new African nations has been the achievement of appreciable rates of economic growth with the transfer of political, economic, and financial control to Africans. The similarities in the factors responsible for the economic backwardness of most African countries are greater than the differences and it is possible to analyze their economic problems with a considerable degree of generalization. In all African countries, there is a critical, pervasive need for an expanded and more effective educational and training process—particularly in the primary and secondary schools—to overcome the overwhelming prejudices against manual work. A peculiar characteristic of the dual economies of Africa has been that a large part of the income earned in Africa was not spent in Africa but siphoned off to foreign countries. The conflicts of policy between the government and the central bank are inevitable at all stages of economic development but are especially serious in newly-developing countries.

Agriculture as an Exporter

Abstract: A symposium paper on the importance of agriculture to the then Rhodesia's exports earnings. Paper presented on Day 2 of Symposium on: Current Economic Problems: Export Development.