[PEN-L:8883] Re:
friends, i must say from a recent stay in miami and key west that the cuban food seemed pretty bad. i do make a cuban shrimp and rice dish that is good though! michael yates
[PEN-L:8882] Re: Cuba
Bill, According to my figures, GDP for Canada in 1933 was 70.2% of GDP in 1929, a ~ 30% drop compared to the approx 50% drop in Cuba. If these figures are correct then the drop in Cuba was over 50% greater in Canada. Paul
[PEN-L:8881] call for papers: conference on human rights
CONFERENCE PROPOSAL AND CALL FOR PAPERS SOCIAL, LABOUR AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE NEW GLOBAL ECONOMY FEEL FREE TO REPOST THIS MESSAGE TO OTHER GROUPS DEALING WITH SOCIAL, LABOUR AND HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES. DO CHECK FIRST THAT YOU ARE THE FIRST POSTER -- AVOID CYBER POLLUTION! This is the first and final call for papers for a conference to be held in Winnipeg, Canada, 8-11 November 1997. The event is an initiative of the Labour and Workplace Studies Programme at the University of Manitoba. The conference will feature plenary sessions and intensive workshops. The participation by academics, union people, community activists and others interested in social, labour and human rights is encouraged. A funding application will be made to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. However, travel subsidies are expected to be small and must be reserved for graduate students, junior faculty, and low-income earners. The grant application is due in late April. Please send proposals for papers (preferably by ascii email) before 10 April to: Labour Conference '97 c/o Jesse Vorst University College, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg R3T 2M8 CANADA tel. 204-474-9119 (w) / 204-269-1365 (h, main) / 204-275-0474 (h, alt.) fax: 204-261-0021 (w) / time: central (GMT-UTC -6 winter, -5 summer) e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please ensure that you send your full coordinates (address, phone, fax, email) and your affiliation (organisation, university, union etc.). CONFERENCE DESCRIPTION: The world economy is undergoing a rapid transformation and polarisation. Crucial elements in this process of globalisation are: (i) the demise of the Soviet Union and the Communist block of nations in eastern and central Europe, and the chaotic restructuring of their economies; (ii) the growth of regional free trade agreements, among them the EU, C-USFTA, NAFTA, and the Latin America, Asian and Visograd agreements; (iii) the formation of the free-trade-oriented (in goods, services and capital) World Trade Organization (WTO) complementing the equally global-capitalist oriented International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB). These developments have raised the issue of the protection of labour and human rights, not only in the developing countries and in the former communist countries, but also in the developed western industrial democracies themselves, including Canada. Canada has always supported, at least in word if not always in deed, the extension of social, labour and human rights -- as laid out in the conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Charter -- to other parts of the world where traditionally recognition of such rights has been sadly lacking. Yet, the intensification of economic relations and the global mobility of capital has not only raised Canada's direct and indirect contact and participation in these abuses, but the lack of protection of fundamental labour and human rights in these countries poses a threat to social, labour and human rights standards in Canada and the other industrial democracies. It is almost impossible to escape, on a daily basis, the litany of abuses that are occurring around the world and the impact they are having close to home: attacks on the social-safety net in western countries; child labour; the disappearances, murders, arrests and beatings of union officials and activists throughout many countries of Latin and South America and Asia; the closing of plants in Canada and the United States and their relocation in the Third World to avoid unionization; the sweatshop conditions and below-minimum- wages paid in Haiti, Indonesia, Thailand and other poor countries producing upscale clothing and toys for major multinational empires; the list goes on and on. Increasingly, the claim is being made that for Canadian companies to become internationally competitive, our labour and human rights standards must be lowered to more comparative levels. The result is a "competitive race to the bottom." The proposed conference is designed to address this problem, in particular finding answers to the following three questions: 1. What is the nature and extent of the problem and the threat to Canadian rights? 2. What can Canada do, unilaterally, to combat the threat here and abroad? 3. What kind of international organizations -- governmental and non-governmental -- and policies can we develop to protect existing Canadian standards and to raise those in the Third World?
Re: Market Socialism Question
At 10:28 AM 3/11/97 -0700, Derek Kalahar wrote: There've been a few recent posts refering to "market socialism". This term is new to me. It seems to me that markets and socialist economies do not seem to be a good fit. I wonder if someone could take a moment to explain the central elements of market socialism. Thanks, Derek It is like a guinea pig -- neither Guinea nor a pig. During the middle ages, the theology was the dominant mode of knowledge of the era, and every philosophical, ethical, epistemological, or legal issue had to be translated into the language of theology to become a bona fide topic of inquiry. It seems like we are witnessing the same process again. Neo-classical economics is becoming a dominant mode of knowledge of the modern era, and every social, political, ethical and what not issue must be first translated into the jargon of economics to be even considered a bona fide topic of inquiry. We can no longer talk about social justice, good life, workplace democracy or dignified working consitions -- because the powers that be would not take us seriously. Instead, we have to talk about the efficient distribution of product and kindred economic abstractions. It is a sad day when the generation of former war protesters, civil rights activists, and the purveyors of social change cries "uncle" and starts debating whether social justice can be profitable. wojtek sokolowski institute for policy studies johns hopkins university baltimore, md 21218 [EMAIL PROTECTED] voice: (410) 516-4056 fax: (410) 516-8233 ** REDUCE MENTAL POLLUTION - LOBOTOMIZE PUNDITS! ** +--+ |There is no such thing as society, only the individuals | |who constitute it. -Margaret Thatcher | | | | | |There is no such such thing as government or corporations,| |only the individuals who lust for power and money.| | -no apologies to Margaret Thatcher | +--+
[PEN-L:8880] Job and Skills Impacts of New Technology in East Asia (fwd)
New paper on: JOB AND SKILL IMPACTS OF NEW TECHNOLOGY IN THE EAST ASIAN ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY Richard Heeks Anne Slamen-McCann Institute for Development Policy and Management University of Manchester, UK Available via the Web (73k): http://www.man.ac.uk/idpm/dispap44.htm This paper reviews recent (post-1985) research literature on job and skill impacts associated with new manufacturing technologies and more globalised production in the East Asian electronics export industry. It describes the unique developmental, technological and cultural framework of the industry, as a result of which it has been largely successful in managing the assimilation of new technology. Employment levels are not falling in the face of automation, and labour shortages remain a problem. Imported technology has been effectively absorbed and technological capabilities have been accumulated, up to levels of globally-competitive innovation in the most successful cases. There is a fresh round of international division of labour in which East Asia emerges as a new 'core' and second-tier Asian nations as a new 'periphery'. Government has played an important role but national tri- partite mechanisms need to be fostered, in particular to address the rapidly emerging issue of continuous training and retraining. The paper includes an annotated bibliography of over 80 items. Available by post (cost of 4 Sterling pounds): Dr Richard Heeks Lecturer, Information Systems Development Institute for Development Policy Management University of Manchester Precinct Centre Manchester M13 9GH U.K. Phone: +44-161-275-2870 Fax: +44-161-273-8829 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] IDPM Web: http://www.man.ac.uk/idpm
[PEN-L:8879] probabilistic economics
This is a plea for help/information/collaborators. Have any pen-l.ers 1) done any work on Farjoun and Machover's "Laws of Chaos" (Verso, 1983) -- specifically testing their hypotheses using company accounts data? 2) technical expertise on gamma distributions and Lukacs' Theorem? -- and if there are any unreconstructed determinists out there who want an argument Julian Wells The Business School South Bank University 103 Borough Road London SE1 0AA United Kingdom Direct: +171-815 7736 Fax:+171-815 7793 VERY IMPORTANT: I have e-mail addresses at a number of sites and institutions; Please copy any reply to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] and to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:8878] RE: Nairu
Let me add a few points to Jim Devine's excellent summary and comments on the JEP Natural Rate Symposium: 1. While Stiglitz and Gordon continue to accept NAIRU as a workable concept, they both reject the view of RAPIDLY "accelerating" inflation if unemployment is maintained below the natural rate. That is, if unemployment is held at say 4.2 percent, they both agree that there would only be a modest increase in the yearly inflation rate. This is exactly what Eisner has been saying. Since Okun's law indicates that unemployment is costly, even they would agree that it would be worth it to hold unemployment at a rate substantial below their estimates of the natural rate. This totally undermines any notion of a long-run perfectly verticle AS curve so that the Friedman view is totaly demolished. 2. It is interesting that not one of the papers mentioned the issue of how changes in the unemployment rate affect the racial unemployment differential. Historically, it can be demonstrated that black workers gain disproportionately from lowering the unemployment rate (as measured by employment rates) and thus one of the benefits of running a tight labor market would be to reduce racial differentials. This adds another reason to promote the idea of low unemployment rates EVEN if it means a somewhat higher inflation rate. (The unwillingness to confront the issue of racial unemployment differentials is alluded to in a letter of mine which is published in the same issue of the JEP) Robert Cherry
[PEN-L:8877] Re:
On Tue, March 11, 1997 at 09:27:22 (PST) Doug Henwood writes: At 9:04 AM -0800 3/11/97, William S. Lear wrote [quoting Paul Phillips]: poor Cuba must have inherited her food genes from England, except perhaps for the beer and bread which were quite excellent. This surprises me. "Cuban food is repellent." - Alexander Cockburn, advising a prospective visitor to Key West. This would be the same Alexander Cockburn who cooks pork chops and corn on the cob on the manifold of his '67 Chrysler convertible? (_The Golden Age Is In Us_, p. 183).:-) Bill -- William S. Lear | Who is there that sees not that this inextricable labyrinth [EMAIL PROTECTED] | of reasons of state was artfully invented, lest the people quid faciendum? | should understand their own affairs, and, understanding, quaere verum| become inclined to conduct them?---William Godwin, 1793
[PEN-L:8876] Re:
We just had a visitor from Cuba here. He tells us that the need for self sufficiency has driven Cuba to produce more vegetables. In my visit there more than a decade ago, vegetables were rare. Meat seemed to have a far higher priority. Our guest told us, over a vegetarian dinner, that Cuban tastes may be changing quickly. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 916-898-5321 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:8875] Re:
At 9:04 AM -0800 3/11/97, William S. Lear wrote [quoting Paul Phillips]: poor Cuba must have inherited her food genes from England, except perhaps for the beer and bread which were quite excellent. This surprises me. "Cuban food is repellent." - Alexander Cockburn, advising a prospective visitor to Key West. Doug -- Doug Henwood Left Business Observer 250 W 85 St New York NY 10024-3217 USA +1-212-874-4020 voice +1-212-874-3137 fax email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] web: http://www.panix.com/~dhenwood/LBO_home.html
[PEN-L:8874] Re:
Thanks for the interesting report. I have a few comments. On Mon, March 10, 1997 at 18:08:08 (PST) [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: The Tourist Experience [...] The food was plentiful and of good quality just boring. Cuban music, art and dance may be spicy and unique, but poor Cuba must have inherited her food genes from England, except perhaps for the beer and bread which were quite excellent. This surprises me. Perhaps the severity of the economic downturn has affected the foodstuffs available for non-sustenance consumption, or you had an atypical experience (bad cooks?), or I'm misinformed. This description is contrary to the impression I had formed (from my cooking experiences) of Cuban food. Mojo Criollo is a famously pungent Cuban garlic-citrus sauce, their spicy black bean soup is a hallmark of the island, I believe Ropa Vieja has Cuban roots, and the hottest chile known to us is the Habanero, which means "from Havana". The food genes of Cuba were inherited from the Spanish conquistadores (onions, limes, oranges, melons, pork, beef, radishes, rice) African slaves (okra, yams, bananas), and indigenous bounties (chiles, tomatoes, mangos, corn, pineapples, guavas, avocados, papayas). The Economic Crisis and Reforms [...] Cuban GNP after the collapse of the USSR fell by 50 per cent. (By comparison, this is a decline 50 % greater than the collapse of the North American economies in the great depression in the 1930s.) I also found this contention contrary to what I had thought, at least for the U.S. economy (were the Canadian/Mexican experiences that much different?). Paul Davidson notes that U.S. GNP "fell by 52 percent between 1929 to 1933". [Paul Davidson. _Post Keynesian Macroeconimic Theory: A Foundation of Successful Economic Policies for the Twenty-first Century_ (Edward Elgar: 1994, p. 5)]. Bill -- William S. Lear | Who is there that sees not that this inextricable labyrinth [EMAIL PROTECTED] | of reasons of state was artfully invented, lest the people quid faciendum? | should understand their own affairs, and, understanding, quaere verum| become inclined to conduct them?---William Godwin, 1793
[PEN-L:8873] testing
testing: does this new e-mail facility work? (Sorry to bother you.) -- Jim
[PEN-L:8872] FW: BLS Daily Report
BLS DAILY REPORT, MONDAY, MARCH 10, 1997 __Seasonal variations helped push up nonfarm payroll employment growth to a stronger-than-expected seasonally adjusted 339,000 in February, as the unemployment rate edged down to 5.3 percent, BLS reports. Job growth in February was the strongest since May. The unemployment rate fell from 5.4 percent in January and has remained below 6 percent for 30 consecutive months. Analysts split on whether the report is the final confirmation of a robust economy needed by the Fed's policy-making Federal Open Market Committee to lift its federal funds rate target Construction employment -- particularly vulnerable to weather -- boomed by 109,000 new jobs in February. Favorable weather conditions in February, following a severe January, buoyed job growth in this industry, said BLS Commissioner Katharine Abraham, in a statement to the JEC (Daily Labor Report, pages D-1,E-32). The U.S. economy continued to grow at a brisk clip in February, the government reported, as more Americans were working more hours at modestly higher pay (Washington Post, March 8, page D1). __The job market grew at an unexpectedly brisk pace in February, as the unemployment rate slipped a tenth of a point. Gains in pay were only modest A growing number of experts, while still in the minority, now argue that the economy's strength may well persuade the Fed to raise interest rates (New York Times, March 8, page A1). __The economy continued to sizzle last month, but cast off few sparks indicating overheating. The latest evidence of vigor: Payrolls swelled by 339,000 in February, the biggest one-month jump since May Wages did rise, but not much (Wall Street Journal, page A2). "The price is right, BLS's chief quietly insists," says the Washington Post's John M. Berry (March 9, page H1). "For more than a few Washington politicians, Katharine G. Abraham, the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, has become a royal pain in the neck," writes Berry. "Abraham, a calm, unflappable and soft-spoken 42-year-old economist has raised their ire by rejecting the assertion by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and other economists that the BLS's consumer price index overstates true increases in the cost of living by a full percentage point or more annually. This refusal has put Abraham at the center of the political storm raging over how to balance the federal budget Some angry members of Congress have indicated they would like to see her ousted, which under the law could be done only for cause. Others have asked when her four-year term expires (the answer is October). In the eyes of the unhappy politicians, as well as a number of economists, Abraham and the economists and statisticians at the BLS have dragged their feet in acknowledging the shortcomings of the venerable CPI. Abraham counters by ticking off all the research the BLS had done to identify problems with the index and the numerous actions taken to make it better " Berry describes Abraham's appearance at a panel session at the American Economic Association in New Orleans in January. The session was scheduled to discuss the findings of the Boskin Commission. One of the speakers was Jerry Houseman of MIT, "who delivered a blistering attack on the competence of BLS employees Abraham responded point by point to all the previous speakers," Berry says, "using an even tone that typically relied on her force of argument to make her view understood. Nevertheless, she concluded with such a strong defense of her staff that, when she finished, the audience burst into applause." "They don't make cars the way they used to. They make them better. Even the government says so," according to the Washington Post (March 9, page H1). Today's cars and trucks are safer, less polluting, more reliable, and more durable than their predecessors The improvements in automobile design carry with them some important economic spinoffs -- for consumers who buy cars and for the businesses that sell and service them. That's because most modern motor vehicles now last longer and require less routine maintenance than their predecessors. One thing that's definitely changing is how much a car costs. The best price measure is what's known as the "transaction price," the final purchase price agreed to by consumer and dealer. The average new-car transaction price today is $18,563, compared with $13,386 in 1987 and $5,814 in 1977, according to figures from the American Automobile Manufacturers Association The good news is that most new cars purchased today are built to run well beyond the final payment due Viewed from that perspective, the higher prices of modern cars are not as onerous as they might seem, according to Katharine G. Abraham, BLS commissioner. The useful life of a car rose 48 percent, to 14.8 years in 1993, from 10 years in 1970,
