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This paper conducts a mapping for the regions of England and Wales of legal specialisms which are explained in terms of spatial forces of gravitation. There are geographic barriers to access to justice arising out of the 'friction of distance'. There is a filter effect which varies, depending on the type of legal problem which correlates with distance in respect of some categories of legal work which, in turn, raises considerations of territorial justice. Whether the role of law in this respect is thought of as a matter of access to justice or of access to competitive advantage raises important issues as to the effectiveness of the current organisation of the legal profession. Significant questions arise as to the capacity of solicitor firms within the regions of England and Wales to support the development of regional knowledge-based economic strategies. In turn, this has implications for the reform of the court structure in England and Wales and also various policy considerations in respect of nurturing the development of high level legal skills within the regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data provided by The Law Society of England and Wales, the paper attempts to evaluate the quantity and quality of legal services provided by private solicitors in Wales. Both are found wanting compared to England as a whole and to an appropriate comparator region (South West England). Moreover, the distribution of services within Wales is extremely uneven with remoter rural areas and areas of recent industrial decline showing the acutest difficulties. The results raise questions about whether Wales can confront the challenges posed by devolution and the emergence of a distinct jurisdiction and by the Welsh Assembly's strategy for economic regeneration. New technology and impending policy reforms give grounds for cautious optimism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Major questions in environmental economics concern choices about the future. Sensible decisions thus require rules for comparing the well-being of potentially different sets of people (in terms of both numbers and identities) under different futures. The central problem of normative population theory is that basic ethical principles that, individually, claim widespread acceptance yield unpalatable conclusions when combined. No approach currently on offer is able to overcome all theoretical objections, but decision making goes on and needs ethical guidance. This paper proposes a practical approach to the welfare comparison of competing futures. As a matter of expedience, it accepts that some choices may be incommensurable and, therefore, unrankable. But its defining characteristic is its recognition that the evaluation of well-being is typically a momentary phenomenon, dependent on an individual''s position or reference frame. A critical positional change arises from the very act of being brought into existence. Social welfare thus has to be continually re-evaluated and the welfare basis for new decisions is subject to a ratchet effect. Although this approach abandons time-consistency it does so without apology and, since time flows in one direction, without inconsistency in decision making. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

It is argued that there is no necessary inconsistency between Kalecki's short-run pricing theory and Sraffa's long-period approach and that the former can be considered as an important component of the analysis of the gravitation of prices to their long-period values. A simple, if provisional, two-sector model is developed to support the argument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Opinion. Compares meliorating behavior, failure to optimize, with maximization of producers of durable goods. Why meliorating behavior appears; Explanation of demand for durable goods; Details on the relation between the price-discriminating monopoly and melioration.

Using data on the patent portfolios of UK universities, the paper compares the levels of patenting activity (filings), success (grants) and quality (patents with commercial co-assignees and patent citations) at Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish institutions. Patent activity, per researcher, in Wales is on a par with that in Scotland and about twice the rate in Northern Ireland, but the numbers of researchers relative to population in Wales and Northern Ireland are around half of the number in Scotland. Patent quality indicators are less favourable to Wales, while both activity levels and conversion of applications into grants are poor in Northern Ireland. It is suggested that greater cross-university collaboration in Wales and Northern Ireland would help improve performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]