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Late 1990s claims of a shift toward a new economy in the United States and other developed economies were said to accelerate earlier trends reducing the material content of production. The shift toward a postindustrial services economy is said to have been accentuated by application of new information and communications technologies, dramatically reducing the material content of production. This offers the possibility for continuous economic expansion unconstrained by resources supply. This paper provides a critical analysis of these trends in relation to resource use by developed economies. It shows that trends toward a lower material content of production are occurring, and this has led to poor demand conditions for primary producers. Nevertheless, these trends fall well short of eliminating Western economies’ dependence on key resources. This paper shows the changing role of resources in economic activity among developed economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT. This paper analyzes the relationship between income inequality and economic growth within the United States using state level data. It describes income inequality in the U.S. since 1960, then employs a two-step causal model to test the institutionalist contention that income inequality leads to socio-political instability, which has a negative impact on economic progress. The empirical results offer support for the institutionalist view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published QUARTERLY in the interest of constructive synthesis in the social sciences, under grants from the FrancisNeilsonFund and the RobertSchalkenbachFoundation.Founded in 1941Volume 64 April, 2005 Number 2 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the adequacy of the growth record of the American economy in recent years. Within the past several years the question of whether or not the economy is advancing at a rapid enough pace has become a matter of serious interest to the general public as well as the economic specialist. This is true to such an extent that the economy's allegedly inadequate growth rate became one of the major issues in the 1960 presidential election campaign. The question of the adequacy of the growth performance of the American economy has been brought forcefully to public attention from a number of responsible and professionally competent sources. The central question in any discussion of the adequacy of the growth record of the economy is that of criteria. Evidence based upon per capita data rather than growth rates suggests that the economy's performance from 1944 through 1960 was relatively unsatisfactory. Real gains of sizable proportions were recorded in living standards as reflected in per capita consumption outlays, but the primary source of such gains was not the sustained growth iii the economy as a whole, but a large-scale shift in the end-use of the nation's total output. As the 1950's drew to a close, however, the possibilities of further progress in living standards from this particular source were becoming exhausted. The same holds for any future increases in the other major components of the output total, particularly investment outlays. In retrospect, therefore, the era 1945-1960 was primarily one in which the fruits of the economy's massive ware tune surge of growth were adapted to peacetime uses. It was not, an era of satisfactory growth.

Before the year 1600, Brazil and the United States were very similar regions in terms of geographic development and colonial status, and yet both countries developed in remarkably different ways. In this article, we apply institutional analysis and the common pool approach to explain differences in the western expansion of Brazil and the United States. We find that (i) such analysis complements much of the previous literature that heretofore explained differences in these regions using sociological and ideological analytical tools, and (ii) the theory that the distinctive behavior between the Brazilian bandeirantes and the North American pioneers is due to sociological factors is refuted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The industrialization of shoemaking occurred in small towns in antebellum New England in which capital formation was severely hampered by currency and credit problems prior to the Legal Tender Act of 1862. In a comparison of two communities, it was discovered that the construction of a railroad had different results depending on the structural ties between the community and the railroad. In one community, the railroad drew external capital to the community that provided the basis for a crucial expansion of scale of shoe production prior to the rise of the factory system. In the other, it depleted local capital, ending the shoe industry and damaging most other local economic activities as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

THE TEXT of this comment has pointed to three basic problems in the analysis of Sly and Chi which tend to invalidate their conclusion. All of these are serious issues that should have been dealt with by the authors. The two most serious of these issues, however, are the specification of variables and the existence of multicollinearity between variables which makes it impossible to interpret the regression results with any degree of confidence. Further work in this area may prove fruitful if a means can be devised to develop variables that measure the separate dimensions of modernization and economic development. However, these processes may be so interconnected that truly "independent" variables of an aggregate type do not exist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to evaluate three variables, economic development, modernization and demographic behavior, as measures of the features of economic growth in the U.S. The two indices of economic well-being, disposable income and average wages in manufacturing adjusted for changes in the price level, measure roughly what they are intended to measure, but the first should be adjusted for changes in population size. In any case, they add little to the analysis not already captured by gross national product (GNP) as a measure of development. The insignificance of disposable income in the various regressions is the result of its high linear correlation with GNP. One of the consequences of multicollinearity is that it is difficult to disentangle the relative influences of the two variables. Hence, even if GNP correctly measured modernization and disposable income measured economic well-being, the regression results do not allow one to judge their relative importance. In light of these criticisms it would appear that the conclusion that changes in the level of structural modernization have a greater effect on mortality trends than do changes in the level of economic well-being.

This article is primarily an attempt to study the economic underpinnings of the allocation of water among competing uses. First, the impact of transferring water from low-productive to high-productive uses on the pace and pattern of economic development is examined in some detail. This is followed by a discussion of the economic implications of water transfer. First, the allocation of water in terms of the market for water rights is studied. Second, the various ramifications involved in water pricing are identified. The final section views the problem of water transfer and its consequences from the standpoints of both efficiency and equity and highlights some of the relevant issues. This study describes eight possible patterns for the use of unappropriated water in two river basin areas in New Mexico. The eight possible patterns of water use described in this article represent different combinations of water according to three major uses: Municipal and industrial, recreational, and agricultural. The results of the study indicated that the contribution of the Rio Grande basin to gross national product would be about $50 for each acre-foot used in irrigation, as against between $200-$300 for each acre foot used for fish and wildlife habitat, and between $3,000 and $4,000 for each acre-foot used in industry. This result, however, does not warrant the assumption that since industry yielded the highest value-added per acre-foot of water, and hence constituted the highest productivity, all available water should be allotted to industry.

This article examines the economic possibility of the author Henry George's vision of imposing a single tax on land and abolishing all taxes upon industry and products of industry in the United States. There is evidence of such positive results in the Pennsylvania communities that have adopted two-rate taxation. But the results depend upon the attraction of more capital. For individual communities the clear opportunity is that of attracting capital funds in the market. If a large number of localities moved at the same time, the increased demand for savings would raise interests rates and create adjustment problems. Such is not a prospect for the foreseeable future. Property taxation plays a crucial role in financing the supply of local government functions. In many places the rates are already high enough to have non-revenue effects of significance. Much of the adverse force of these effects can be mitigated. Indeed, incentives to improve land use can be related to capital value as in the United States and Canada, or to annual yield.

The fast pace of economic growth of the East Asian nations known as the "Four Tigers"-South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore-has become a legend It is usually claimed that the export-oriented industrialization (EOI) strategy was the basic cause of that rapid growth However, it is contended that the growth strategy of these countries was the result of certain unique historical and geopolitical factors The colonial government had created the necessary infrastructure and international linkages which set the stage for initiating the 1301 strategy Furthermore, because of the political support accorded to them from foreign governments, these countries, with the exception of Hong Kong, excluded major oppositional groups from sharing political power, and thus they were able to pursue effectively growth and export-oriented policies South Korea and Taiwan also received a large amount of foreign aid from the U S This aid, and the fact the U S laid open its huge market for cheaper Asian exports without insisting on reciprocity, prepared the conditions for export-led growth in those countries [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alvin H. Hansen was one of the leading American economists from the 1930s to the 1960s. He was largely responsible for the popularization of Keynesian economics in the United States and Canada. He was responsible for the development of the stagnation thesis which explained 19th century American economic growth In terms of population growth, the frontier, and technology. The diminishing of these factors explained the decrease in the American economic growth rate in the 20th Century. Hansen's policy conclusions to prevent stagnation were Keynesian in nature and, as a result, Hansen was an early advocate of active fiscal policy in the United States. He differed with Terborgh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing countries, in constructing modern tax systems, would do well to adopt policies based on proven economic principles so that fiscal instruments do not perpetuate stagnant economies and underemployment of labor and resources. To achieve growth and jobs and ever higher levels of living, they should avoid the mistakes of the United States and many other industrially developed countries in burdening business-enterprise production-with heavy and obstrusive taxes. They, and developed countries as well which are committed to progressive change based on tax reform, like the United States, should use land values where possible to finance local governments so as to avoid taxing the other factors of production. And where necessary taxes should be levied on consumption, for taxes on business income misallocate resources and hamper market discipline in promoting output and efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between 1970 and 1980 the Hispanic population of Miami had a phenomenal rate of growth while the Black population also grew rapidly. The non-Hispanic White population actually experienced a numerical decline. The Hispanic population of the city has been highly successful in improving its economic will-being and has been able to penetrate deeply into non-Hispanic White neighborhoods throughout the city. Blacks have not been able to increase their economic well-being as greatly and their expansion has been confined largely to neighborhoods adjacent to older Black neighborhoods. Non- Hispanic White neighborhoods shrank considerably in area during the decade and today are mainly found on Miami Beach, in northeast Miami and the far south of the city. if large scale Hispanic migration continues, and the Black population maintains its rate of growth, by 1990 Miami will likely have an even smaller non-Hispanic White population than today and be ethnically more segregated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A composite Quality of Life (QOL) indicator model of five major components-Social, Economic, Energy and Environmental, Health and Education, and National Vitality and Security-was developed. Based on cross-national data of 1975, 32 developed countries and China (Taiwan) were ranked according to their component and overall QOL measures. The influence of income and other variables on QOL was analyzed; it was found that the income variable is not as significantly related to the composite QOL indexes as are other variables and China (Taiwan's) QOL rankings far exceed its per capita income ranking in the international comparison. The U.S. sur- passed all the countries studied in providing its citizens with basic human needs and the highest material standard of living. The national vitality and security component indicated, however, that the U.S. may have lost, militarily and strategically, some of its influence and perceived power to the U.S.S.R. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

World War II and the subsequent release of suppressed consumer demand resulted in high levels of economic activity and prosperity for the American people. Observers generally agree that the economic status of the Negro, measured in absolute terms, improved significantly during the 1940's. Disagreement is more likely to arise about changes in the economic status of the Negro relative to that of the White. The purpose of this article is to refine existing estimates of the relative gains of the Negro during the 1940's and to investigate the effects of upward occupational mobility, geographical mobility and changes in the racial age-education distributions upon the relative economic status of the Negro during the 1940's. To accomplish this an expanded version of the occupational index will be used. The use of an index is necessary since income data, which are comparable between 1940 and 1950, are given only on a national basis. The use of such data would preclude any regional analysis, thereby making it impossible to measure the effect of geographical mobility. In addition, it is generally recognized that depressed business conditions have a greater impact upon the Negro worker than upon the White worker. The severe depression of the 1930's undoubtedly reduced the Negro's relative income below what may be considered its long-term normal value.

This article addresses the economic changes in Milwaukee, Wisconsin which have not been matched by appropriate changes in legal, political and financial institutions. The fundamental change in the state is mobility. And this means automobile. It is ease of movement that made metropolitan areas possible and it is ease of movement that will control their future. The number of automobile registrations in the state has grown from 44,255 in 1921 to 173,713 in 1940 to 325,409 in 1960. This leap forward in mobility made possible a far greater breadth of choice as to where one would locate. It brought to an end the need to cluster. One's place of employment plays a declining role in the family decision about place of residence. Similarly, the surge in automobile use had lessened the need for industry to locate on rail or water routes. Related to the increased economic unity and interdependence is an increased economic specialization among the municipalities of the state. This, too, grows out of the growth of mobility. The economic specialization refers to the kinds of land use on which the different cities and villages concentrate. The delicate grading of property specialization is possible only when there is a very large population to draw from. It is mobility which supplied that large population.

This article focuses on the need for constructive analysis, planning, and policy to promote regional economic growth in the southern states of the U.S. The prospects and possibilities for the South's economic development are, of course, closely linked with growth of and changes in the national economy. During the past two decades, the South has shared increasingly well in national economic growth, and similar promise holds for the future. Although there are thus grounds for optimism, the expected improvement could presumably be made greater and more certain. The present momentum of Southern economic development provides a strong driving force which may be harnessed by special and concerted efforts to secure continued advance. Too much emphasis can hardly be placed on the productivity of the South's labor force in terms of its aptitudes, mobility, and employability. For several decades, the South has had somewhat more than its share of low productivity industry. Low-productivity areas are necessarily low-wage, low-income areas as well. A revealing example is the cotton-growing region of the South in which farms are typically too small, under-equipped, and poorly managed to be profitable. Such factors as the one-crop system, sharecropping, race, and an inadequate system of rural credit work in combination to reduce the productivity and cash incomes of these far too numerous farmers.

The U.S. administration has been reviewing and arguing about how this complex, interconnected relationship with the developing nations can be managed. First, the U.S. must adopt a positive and constructive attitude in addressing international problems encompassing the developing countries. Americans will seek common ground with these countries, for progress will only be possible when solutions are mutually beneficial to all parties. Second, the U.S. will recognize in the actions that interdependence requires its people, as they fashion their domestic policies, to take into account their impact on the rest of the world, including the Third World. Third, the structure of the international system is changing, gradually evolving from a "North" and a "South" into a global community in which all countries have responsibilities as well as rights. Fourth, while the policies must be global in their concept, their implementation must be specific to each situation. Fifth, the U.S. accepts the diverse models of economic and political development that the less developed countries have chosen to benefit their peoples.

This article examines the effect of peddling upon industrialization and economic development and the evolution of institutional arrangements in marketing in the Antebellum period. After 1840 peddling in America was undertaken, to an increasing extent, by newly arrived immigrants from Germany who displaced the traditional "Yankees" from the trade. The relationship between peddling and the development of entrepreneurship is explored, along with the special opportunities that peddling provided for economic and occupational mobility in the American milieu. The frequency with which individuals who started careers as peddlers rose to prominence in the fields of merchandising and finance points to the importance of the "schooling" function of this institution for newly arrived immigrants in American folkways, business practices, and commercial possibilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]