European Case Studies Research Articles

Social Ministry in the Local Pentecostal Church: Three Western European Case Studies

Social Ministry in the Local Pentecostal Church: Three Western European Case Studies

The strengths and weakness of travel demand model systems for assessing emission reduction policies

Systems of models which predict various aspects of travel behaviour—frequency of travel, choice of destination, choice of mode, choice of route, etc.—are now often applied to predict the influence of transport policies. The forecasting horizon for such studies is often as long as 15–25 years into the future. In recent years, the environmental and energy impacts of private travel have become vital issues in transport policy assessment. The main question addressed in the paper is thus what travel demand model systems can and cannot yet tell us about long-term changes in emissions from private transportation. The paper first outlines the typical structure, inputs and outputs of travel demandmodel systems. Then, two European case studies are described—one in the Netherlands and the other in Norway. In both cases, predictions of future emissions levels were key results. These studies illustrate both the strength of such models in providing a detailed and realistic treatment of the demand for travel, but also some current weaknesses with respect to predicting fuel use and emission rates. The final section discusses two particular areas of modelling which can address these weaknesses. The first area is that of vehicle purchase behaviour. Further progress in this area will allow better forecasts of the makeup of the car park in terms of the fuel use and emissions characteristics of the vehicles. A second area is that of driving behaviour, as might be influenced by, for instance, lower speed limits, in-vehicle information systems or greater environmental awareness.

The ‘Lean Production’ Model, New Technology and HRM: A Case Study of Automotive Presswork

The lean production model does not say much about the shop‐floor implications for working practices and labour management relations — the assumption is that workers would prefer to be under a lean regime — or indeed how firms might begin to introduce new working practices (Womak et al 1990). On the other hand, many related studies have been critical of the model, noting for example work intensification, greater management control, and questioning the notion of multi‐skilling (Rehder 1989, 1990, Dankbaar 1988, Pollert 1988) and its applicability (Wood 1991). Using four European case studies in automotive presswork, this paper examines the introduction of new working practices on the shop‐floor, and the links between those practices and the introductions of new presswork technologies. Finally, we draw conclusions from the case studies with respect to our understanding of skill and the relationship between organisational and technological changes on the shop‐floor.

An industrial experiment in pre‐colonial Africa: the case of imperial Madagascar, 1825–1861

The last two decades have witnessed a lively debate over the preconditions for industrialisation, and the causes and consequences of the failure to industrialise. This paper attempts to widen the scope of the debate, which has concentrated upon European case studies, to include an industrial experiment in Imerina, a central province of Madagascar, between 1825 and 1861. This occurred in an overwhelmingly rural society, based on irrigated riziculture and possessing a small number of full‐time artisans. The Merina state initiated the drive to industrialise, on the basis initially of textile manufacture but later on the production of armaments, and on the processing of raw materials, notably sugar, tobacco and animal products. By the mid nineteenth century, many of the preconditions for successful industrialisation had been met. Lacking capital, the Merina crown promoted industry through labour intensive means, organising and directing its labour resources through the institutions of fanompoana, for the ‘fre...

Measuring Terms of Trade of LDCS: A Different Approach

The so called Third World Debt Crisis has occupied the center stage of the literature regarding economic development in the 80's. This has pushed aside a number of other problems that Less Developed Countries (LDC's) have in their economic relations with the Developed Countries (DCs). Nevertheless, these are real problems and those countries suffer from their consequences. Deterioration in the terms of trade of LDC's is one issue that has been, in the 50's and 60's, in the center of controversy. The question has been lingering even prior to the WWII. After the World War II the possibility of nations being worse off as a result of a deterioration in the terms of trade was examined more thoroughly. Following the publication in 1949 of the United Nations study, Relative Prices of Exports and Imports of Underdevel oped Countries, some economists began to talk about the deterioration in the course of a century of the terms of trade for a certain category of products. Raul Prebisch (1950) and Hans Singer (1950) argued that the terms of trade were deteriorating against primary products. M. Ellsworth and F. V. Meyer, among others, challenged the reliability of the statistical data on which these observations were based. In 1956 Kindleberger's monumental work, The Terms of Trade: A European Case Study, was published. In this book he concludes: We have found that there is something to the notion that the merchandise terms of trade tend to move against underdeveloped countries, but little in the usual corollary that they move against manufactures and in favor of primary products. The distinction is important. According to Arthur Lewis (1954), the existence of a dual economy, a subsistence sector side by side with a capitalist sector, keeps real wages in LDCs down and causes a deterioration in the terms of trade of these countries. Surplus labor abounds in the tradi tional sector. The productivity of labor is very low, and production is at the subsistence level. This is due to the fact that in the countries that produce tropical crops, there is a subsistence sector that will provide enough excess labor to prevent increases in real wages. Thus the neoclassical assumption of full employment does not hold for one partner, the LDC. Here, the marginal productivity of labor in the subsistence level is almost zero and its supply is practically unlimited. Arghiri Emmanuel questions Ricardo's as sumption of perfect mobility of factors of production within each country, and perfect immobility of these factors among countries. He argues capital is internationally mobile while labor is immobile. This is what Emmanuel (1976) considers present-day reality. If this is the case, then exchange is unequal because of differences in wages, for the same type of labor, which will bring about a transfer of value from lower real wage countries to higher real wage ones.

Mergers and acquisitions: Competitive advantage and cultural fit

Guillaume Franck focusses on the paramount importance of the impact of culture on the success or failure of a merger or acquisition. Drawing on many European case-studies of M and As, he explores some of the concepts, particularly in the field of cultural dynamics, that executives of European multinationals have used in M and A situations.

Border regions: A critique of spatial theory and a European case study

In Europe and North America increasing attention is being devoted to the special problems of border regions. This paper critically summarizes the nature and significance of location theory and the growth pole literature with respect to border region issues and policies. It is argued that neither of these approaches has succeeded in formulating a satisfactory theory of border regions. The tri-national Alsace-Baden-Basel area is examined in some detail for insights that should be instructive in developing such a theory. A number of implications for border region analysis are suggested. In contrast to the prevailing view in the relevant literature, the advantages of border regions are stressed over the disadvantages.

Financial Development and Economic Growth in Underdeveloped Countries

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the financial development and economic growth in underdeveloped countries. An observed characteristic of the process of economic development over time, in a market-oriented economy using the price mechanism to allocate resources, is an increase in the number and variety of financial institutions and a substantial rise in the proportion not only of money but also of the total of all financial assets relative to GNP and to tangible wealth. Typical statements indicate that the financial system somehow accommodates—or, to the extent that it malfunctions, it restricts—growth of real per capita output. Such an approach places emphasis on the demand side for financial services; as the economy grows it generates additional and new demands for these services, which bring about a supply response in the growth of the financial system. In this view, the lack of financial institutions in underdeveloped countries is simply an indication of the lack of demand for their services.

The Terms of Trade. A European Case Study.

Journal Article The Terms of Trade. A European Case Study Get access The Terms of Trade. A European Case Study. By C. P. Kindleberger. (New York: John Wiley, and the Technology Press of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (London: Chapman & Hall), 1956. Pp. v + 382. 72s.) Murray C. Kemp Murray C. Kemp McGill University Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The Economic Journal, Volume 67, Issue 267, 1 September 1957, Pages 506–508, https://doi.org/10.2307/2227369 Published: 01 September 1957

The Terms of Trade: A European Case Study

The Terms of Trade: A European Case Study. By Charles P. Kindleberger. With the assistance of Herman G. van der Tak and Jaroslav Vanek. Cambridge, Mass.: The Technology Press of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; London: Chapman & Hall, Ltd. 1956. Pp. xx, 382. $9.00. - Volume 23 Issue 3

Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: The Australian Wheat‐Growing Industry, 1788–1948. By Edgars Dunsdorfs British Industry 1700–1950. By W. Hoffmann Population Growth and Levels of Consumption. By Horace Belshaw Capital Formation and Foreign Investment in Underdeveloped Countries. By Charles Wolf, jnr., and Sidney C. Sufrin Work and Authority in Industry: Ideologies of Management in the Course of Industrialisation. By Reinhard Bendix Limited Liability Companies in Australia. Some Aspects of Control. By R. Keith Yorston An Expenditure Tax. By Nicholas Kaldor Economic Theory and Method. By F. Zeuthen The. Terms of Trade. A European Case Study. By Charles P. Kindleberger Government Budgeting. By Jesse Burkhead The Cost of the National Health Service in England and Wales. By Brian Abel‐Smith and Richard M. Titmuss Income and Wealth, Series V. Edited by Simon KuznetsNational Income Statistics: Sources and Methods. Public Control of Economic Enterprise. By Harold Koontz and Richard W. Gable Fluid Milk Marketing. By George Max Beal and Henry H. Bakken Plant Location in Theory and Practise. By Melvin L. Greenhut Dynamic Factors in Industrial Productivity. By Seymour MelmanThe Challenge of Automation. Papers delivered at the National Conference on Automation Automation. A New Dimension to Old Problems. By G. P. Shultz and G. B. Baldwin The Economic Consequences of Automation. By Paul Einzig Trade Union Government and Administration in Great Britain. By B. C. Roberts The Economics of Employment and Unemployment. By Paul H. Casselman A Revision of Demand Theory. By J. R. Hicks Adam Smith and the Scotland of His Day. By C. R. Fay The Psychology of Economics. By W. A. Weisskopf How Can Europe Survive? By Hans F. Sennholz Economic Commentaries. By Sir Dennis Robertson The Essentials of Economics. By D. C. Hague and A. W. Stonier Comparative Economic Development. By Ralph H. Blodgett and Donald L. Kemmerer Population and Planned Parenthood in India. By S. Chandrasekhar

The Terms of Trade. A European Case Study.

The Terms of Trade. A European Case Study.

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article:Non‐profit Corporations and Associations: Organization, Management, and Dissolution. By Howard L. OleckSelected Case Problems in Finance. By Robert J. Oppitz.Successful Handling of Casualty Claims. By Patrick MagarickProperty Insurance. By John H. MageePensions: Problems and Trends, Edited by Dan M. McGillModern Life Insurance: A Textbook of Income Insurance. By Robert I. Mehr and Robert W. OslerAdjustment of Property Losses. By Prentiss B. ReedThe Terms of Trade: A European Case Study. By Charles P. Kindleberger, with the assistance of Herman G. Vander Tak and Jaroslav VanekThe Theory of International Economic Policy, Vol. II: Trade and Welfare. By J. E. MeadeThe Theory of International Economic Policy, Vol. II: Trade and Welfare, Mathematical Supplement. By J. E. MeadeA Study of Saving in the United States, Vol. III: Special Studies. By Raymond W. Goldsmith, Dorothy S. Brady, and Horst MenderhausenLife Insurance Investment in Commercial Real Estate. By Harold Wayne SniderBanking Systems Edited by Benjamin Haggott BeckhartPersonal Income during Business Cycles. By Daniel CreamerBusiness Cycles: Their Nature, Cause, and Control. By James Arthur EsteyTrends and Cycles in Economic Activity: An Introduction to Problems of Economic Growth. By William FellnerThe Legal Qualities of Money. By Arthur Kempmoney and Banking. By Raymond P. Kent. 3d ed.Export‐Import Banking: The Documents and Financial Operations of Foreign Trade. By William S. ShaterianGovernment Budgeting. By Jesse BurkheadAn Expenditure Tax. By Nicholas KaldorPublic Finance and Economic Welfare. By Kenyon E. PooleModern Real Estate Practice: A Managerial Approach. By Frederick E. CaseMortgage Servicing. By William I. DeHuszarUrban Mortgage Lending: Comparative Markets and Experience. By J. E. MortonReal Estate Appraisal. By Paul F. Wendt

The Terms of Trade: A European Case Study.

The Terms of Trade: A European Case Study.

The Terms of Trade: A European Case Study

The Terms of Trade: A European Case Study

The Terms of Trade--A European Case Study.

The Terms of Trade--A European Case Study.

Book Review: The Terms of Trade: A European Case Study

Book Review: The Terms of Trade: A European Case Study