This paper discusses the prospects of Greece, Portugal and Spain completing stage 1 of the Delors plan. Much of the academic literature on the removal of capital controls seeks to extend the experience of the ERM countries in the 1980s. We argue that its applicability for southern Europe is not straightforward, because these countries have not had the same experience of operating the ‘old’ ERM with capital controls, and examine the implications for these countries of removing capital controls for macroeconomic, and especially, fiscal policy. Intermediate institutional arrangements may be necessary and we consider how EC-wide measures may help these countries in this transitional phase. For the next phase of European integration, the focus of the EC should be on developing appropriate public institutions at the European level to promote positive integration.

Public officials faced with difficult and technologically complex decisions often resort to decision rules that purport to aggregate disparate judgements. Such multicriterion decisions are only as good as the procedures used to perform such aggregation, however. We examine the use of one such decision-making tool, a variant of the Delphi technique, in the choice of a disposal technology for low-level radioactive waste for the Southeast Compact Commission in the United States. The case focuses on the danger when officials guess when they think they are choosing. Choosing occurs when all participants understand the implications, and sensitivities, of the technique used to aggregate judgement; guessing occurs when the participants choose randomly or without full knowledge of the properties of the process.

It is widely believed by political scientists that the Thatcher Governments transformed British industrial relations and ‘curbed union power’. In contrast, most industrial relations scholars have argued that despite the legislative onslaught relatively little has changed on the shopfloor. This paper examines both claims. Much has changed in Britain since 1979. In particular, the political role of unions has altered substantially. Unions in 1991 are infrequently consulted and have very little influence. In addition, the legislative framework within which unions operate is very different; their activities are much more circumscribed by the law than previously. But much less has changed on the shopfloor; for example, there is limited evidence of a major move to derecognise unions or restrict collective bargaining. Governments can only set the legislative framework within which shopfloor industrial relations operate; it cannot determine outcomes.

This paper extends previous analyses of industrial policy from a corporatist perspective. We advocate a mid-level measure of group influence; the measure is based upon analysis of newspaper stories. A preliminary exploration of NewsBank data is reported, and several interesting trends in economic development policy are isolated. Business and education are heavily involved in policymaking whereas labor and political parties are not at all involved. On the whole, a meso-corporatist model in which business, state government, and education are partners seems to fit better than a business capture model. Some speculations are offered about this new American form of corporatism and its resemblance to the Japanese case.

In discussing unemployment problems the current literature tends to emphasise supply shocks and real wage rigidity, hysteresis, failure of relative wages to adjust to market conditions and labour market regulations as important reasons of unemployment. By making a comparative study of the unemployment problems in the Netherlands and Norway, this study emphasises the protection of industries, real interest rates and government fiscal policy as important factors explaining the difference in unemployment between the two countries.