THE ROLE OF DEFENSE CUTS IN THE CALIFORNIA RECESSION COMPUTABLE GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM MODELS AND INTERSTATE FACTOR MOBILITY*

ABSTRACT. This study develops a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model of California to examine the impact of recent defense cuts on the state's economy. The study demonstrates use of a CGE model to examine the sensitivity of regional economy models to assumptions about factor migration. Model variants include input-output and closed economy models as limiting cases. The results show that the California economy is sensitive to defense cuts. The multiplier relating the impact of defense cuts to state product ranges from one to almost five, depending on the degree of interstate factor mobility.     

‘Circulating commodities’: reflections on the movement and meaning of shells and stories in North Australia and Eastern Indonesia1

As Victor Turner (1974) so eloquently argues, symbols have the capacity to move people, in both emotional and physical terms. In this article, I explore the power of certain kinds of symbols, namely shells (trochus shell, Tectus niloticus) and stories, to do just this. Stories, I argue, construct pathways for the movement of people and objects. Shells too also evoke (e)motion through their ability to signify specific spheres of exchange and the relationships, identities and values which circulate within these domains. Importantly, stories and shells not only suggest movement but are themselves entities which are moved between differently valued social and political contexts. As things which are defined in terms of their high exchangeability quotient, shells and stories, at certain times in their biographies, correspond to Appadurai's (1986) notion of a commodity. Through an exploration of the commodity status and circulation of both shells and stories within the broad ethnographic context of Maluku Tenggara, Indonesia, I aim to challenge some of the commonly held beliefs and stories which are transmitted via the Australian media and along other lines of communication about the so-called ‘problem’ of illegal Indonesian fishermen in north Australian waters.     

(Education for) Sustainable Development in Geography Education: review and outlook from a perspective of Germany

Nearly 15 years after the Rio Conference and 10 years after the Lucerne Declaration on Geographical Education for Sustainable Development we are interested to what extent the goals of this declaration have been implemented? What role does Geography play in Education for Sustainable Development in higher education? We analyzed the modules of 107 degree programs with Geography as a degree major or as a teacher training subject at 55 German universities, technical colleges and universities of education. We conducted a quantitative text analysis in which we searched the key words “Sustainability”, “Sustainable Development”, “Education for Sustainable Development” and “Nature-Society Studies” in the Module Regulations. Our data indicate great heterogeneity between the degree programs. The key words were predominantly found in majors in “Human Geography”, “Geography” and teacher training programs for “academic high schools”. Aspects of the results considered in the paper include: (a) differences in the orientation of degree programs, (b) varying degree of implementation in the modules, (c) different conceptual understanding of the principles of sustainability, (d) the extent to which concepts of Environmental Education and Education for Sustainable Development are mixed, (e) heterogeneity between mandatory courses and electives.     

REVIEW

Society and Exchange in Nias. By Andrew Beatty. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1992. Pp. xii + 322. Price $A95.00     

William Howard Taft and the Importance of Unanimity

This Term, the Historical Society has put on a wonderful series about the man who is widely—and rightly—regarded as this Court's greatest Chief Justice. Through his recognition of the right of judicial review, John Marshall secured for this Court a role in shaping the nation's most important principles: racial equality, individual liberty, the meaning of democracy, and so many others.     

Policy Feedback: The Comparison Effect and Small Business Procurement Policy

Federal programs to help small business obtain government contracts reflect a type of policy learning termed the comparison effect. In contrast with studies of learning focused on policy instruments, the comparison effect directs attention to a class of policy dissatisfaction that leads to a search for new policy and the translation of dissatisfaction into problem definitions that influence the agenda. In the comparison effect, policy fuels comparisons of government treatment of different groups or sectors that contribute to compensatory or offsetting programs for those deemed to be on the losing end of the comparison.