ROCK PHYSICS AND THE NEOLITHIC AXE TRADE IN GREAT BRITAIN*

This paper is concerned with the products of a number of Neolithic quarries in highland Britain. It investigates the claim that the scale of axe distribution was partly the result of social factors which resulted in these artefacts gaining an added value in areas remote from their sources. One case study considers the sequence of production in Cumbria, in relation to the tensile strength of the rock quarried in different parts of the region. It shows that these considerations had only a limited influence over the choice of stone source and the scale on which it was worked. A second study compares the tensile strength of the main raw materials used for making non-flint axes with the extent to which these sources were actually exploited. Again there is only a limited relationship between the two, suggesting that social factors may indeed have been important.     

The Effect of Job Advertising Policies on Interregional Labor Migration

A simulation model of a multiregional labor migration process is developed. Information about employment conditions in alternative regions is transmitted in a combination of three channels. The adopted emission policies directly control the amount of information available to potential migrants which, in turn, determines the potential migrant's perception of the level of welfare in the other regions. The effect of several different advertising policies on migration streams is examined. Employers can pursue a number of policies designed to maximize their return. Other agencies adopt policies that facilitate the matching process between unemployed workers and vacant jobs. Results are presented for a number of simulation experiments.     

ON THE RELATION BETWEEN USERS' BENEFITS AND THE ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF TRANSPORTATION ACTIVITIES

ABSTRACT. The addition of output variation benefits to the users' surplus generated by transportation improvements has been subject to debate, and no agreement has been reached. In this paper, the problem is restated at the level of the origins of transportation demand, which can be derived from the information provided by the economic activity. It is shown that a competitive productive environment makes the transportation consumers' surplus exactly equal to the net economic benefits provoked in the products' markets; however, when monopolistic production prevails, the users' surplus may not reflect the benefits to the economy with accuracy. Mixed conditions are also explored and the role of final products' demand elasticity is highlighted. Different styles of welfare analysis are recommended for different market conditions.