US Programmes Research Articles

Soviet space in transit

The author discusses the importance — symbolic and technical — of space shuttles to the US and Soviet space programmes. Contrary to various critics, he believes that the Buran-Energia system has recaptured the public imagination and that thanks to greater versatility than its US counterpart, it can accelerate progress in the Soviet space programme and stimulate spin-offs. The growing spirit of glasnost in the programme is welcomed and an increasing openness expected.

US and Soviet planetary exploration The next step is Mars, together

Soviet General Secretary Gorbachev has proposed a joint US-Soviet programme to explore the planet Mars. The authors argue that there is considerable advantage to be gained from such a programme for both countries and for all nations on Earth. They trace the history of the US and Soviet space programmes and of cooperation between the two nations, focusing particularly on activities relating to Mars. Robotic Mars exploration is already technically possible and could take place in the 1990s, and a first step towards manned exploration could be the writing of a development and flight plan aiming for the first decade of the 21st century.

CROPLAND DIVERSION (SET‐ASIDE) IN THE US AND UK

Lessons from a variety of past and present US cropland diversion programmes are important for evaluating UK set‐aside proposals. The structure and operation of current US programmes and the major UK proposals are described. A comparative economic welfare analysis of generic cropland diversion in the US and UK reveals the different types of potential impacts due principally to their different agricultural support programmes. Government cost savings and land rental payments can be misleading benefit and cost indicators for set‐aside. Major problems with US programmes include slippage of production control, lack of targeting, inadequate overall efficiency evaluations, and goal conflict. The most appropriate role for cropland diversion may be as a compensatory mechanism to aid the agricultural adjustment process in the face of price restraint, while securing the most valuable non‐market conservation and environmental services from idled farm land.

Transfers, Targeting and Poverty

Poverty Ravi Kanbur In spite of poverty alleviation programmes in the UK and the US, poverty still exists in both countries, and a significant share of welfare funds do not even reach the poor. This is partly because funds are simply limited and shrinking. But there are also fundamental problems in designing programmes of poverty alleviation. Maximum effectiveness would seem to suggest that transfers ought to be targeted as precisely as possible at those who most need them. Unfortunately, this is socially costly for two reasons. First, means-based transfers imply that the poor face a very high marginal tax rate, sometimes in excess of 100%, which is a major disincentive to work effort. The second difficulty is the stigma attached to means testing, and the low take-up rate this may induce. This article presents the salient features of the US and UK poverty programmes, discusses the principles behind poverty alleviation and considers various reform proposals. Among the alternatives is the idea of shifting even further away from means testing towards contingent benefits – making transfers dependent on the characteristics most often associated with poverty. The author argues that the present programmes reflect some essential considerations on which it is possible to build, and that wholesale reform would be inappropriate. Nor is it clear that public support exists for a major extension of transfers to the poor. Indeed, existing inefficiencies may be part of the price of public acceptance of the transfer programmes already in place.

US and Soviet ballistic missile defence programmes

This article reviews the key provisions of the ABM Treaty and the major issues of interpretation which need to be resolved. The various phases of the US Strategic Defense Initiative are discussed, showing that permitted SDI research may cross over the prohibited development and testing beginning in 1988. Cooperative research with US allies is discussed in terms of the Treaty constraints. US and Soviet ballistic missile defence programmes are summarized and the major US and Soviet compliance issues, including the Krasnoyarsk radar, are reviewed. The author argues that limitations on defensive systems remain a precondition to limitations on offensive systems. The ABM Treaty should be enhanced by agreed interpretations, a separate ASAT treaty, and perhaps four amendments to the ABM Treaty.

US Defence policy and programmes beyond 1984

US Defence policy and programmes beyond 1984

Vol 4: Laser Photochemistry, Tunable Lasers, and other Topics

S F Jacobs, M Sargent III, M O Scully and C T Walker (eds) Reading, Mass, and London: Addison-Wesley 1976 pp xi + 470 price £16.45