Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space

The problem of situating economic transitions from communism to postcommunism within more general theories of comparative political economy has received surprisingly little scholarly attention. In this paper the author argues that the reason for the lack of integration between these two literatures is that the dynamics of the formation and decline of the Stalinist socioeconomic system remain basically anomalous for each of the three dominant theoretical frameworks in the field of political economy: the modernization approach, the world-systems approach, and the rational choice approach. Moreover, none of these paradigms by itself appears to account satisfactorily for the diverse economic trends in postcommunist societies. Modernization theory is apparently consistent with economic ‘development’ in the most successful areas within the Leninist and post-Leninist world; world-systems theory appears to fit the type of ‘dependency’ emerging in places such as Central Asia and the Caucasus; rational choice analysis elucidates the continuing ‘devolution’ of Leninist state structures in places where rent-seeking bureaucrats still directly or indirectly control most of the national wealth—but no single approach explains the overall pattern of mixed results. It is concluded that making sense of the puzzling emergence, destruction, and aftermath of the Stalinist economic model requires the integration of ideological modes of coordinating collective action into a more comprehensive political economy paradigm.

In this paper the authors discuss the characteristics of NIMBY (‘not in my backyard’) facilities as they relate to the impacts on the local neighbourhood. They evaluate the available conflict-resolution instalments used for the siting of NIMBY facilities, and in particular aim to suggest two alternative auction mechanisms for localities affected by these facilities, Some considerations for general compensation schemes arc also presented. Here, efficiency and some cost – benefit rules for compensation are suggested. Finally, some equity concerns are discussed.

The operation both of private and of public sector organisations consists of a complex interplay between in-house and external expertise and knowledge. The authors use a unique survey of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in England to explore their use of external expertise and the location of external advisers. They also draw upon surveys both of private sector consultants and of personal business advisers (PBAs) employed by Business Link companies. Network analysis is used to identify the ways in which weak and strong ties either enable or constrain opportunities for SMEs to access the knowledge and expertise available both from private sector business-service companies and from state agencies. SME owner-managers have too many strong ties with their local business community. The paucity of weak tics with individuals located elsewhere in the United Kingdom restricts the ability of SMEs to search for business-service expertise outside their local area. An analysis of the Business Link initiative is undertaken which suggests that the spatial monopoly held by each Business Link company does not encourage them to participate in the development of a national knowledge-and-enterprise network. The analysis suggests that a dual information economy may be developing in the United Kingdom in which large firms arc able to access specialist external expertise irrespective of location, whereas SMEs are tied into local providers of more generalist expertise.

In this paper the author provides some empirical evidence to show that those old, new, or restored countries of the former Soviet-dominated bloc which embarked on the early institutional transformation of their political and economic systems in a broad and intensive way experienced more quickly the resumption of economic stability and growth and thus left behind the severe downturn of a transformational slump (that is, economic contraction, hyperinflation, and a highly unbalanced governmental budget). The early postcommunist transformation is examined in terms of a general transformational equation. The author provides a cross-sectional explanation of early differences throughout the twenty-one countries both in the institutional transformation and in the transformational slump. Two complementary LISREL (linear structural equations) models show that a successful early postcommunist transformation means (1) a quick resumption of macroeconomic balance and economic growth resting on (2) genuine democratization and economic liberalization, and (3) higher levels of inherited modernization.

Local economic development policy networks in four cities in Britain and France (Leeds, Southampton, Lille, and Rennes) are compared by means of the technique of sociometric network analysis. The author's objective was to find out if, in an age of internationalisation and urban competition, networks still conform to the structure suggested by the classic Franco-British comparative studies, or whether they resemble the more open and interorganisational pattern characteristic of the new urban governance. After setting out the methods and the sociometric approach, the author identifies actors who have the ten highest centrality scores in the four cities, The author concludes that, in spite of continuing contrasts in the national institutional structures and differences in the politics and cultures of the four cities, there is a surprising similarity in the key actors involved in urban economic development; these actors include individuals from the locally elected authorities, central government bodies, and businesses. The new urban governance is based on the range of agencies responsible for economic development and upon the growing importance of business in policy formulation and implementation.

Subcentral governments have gradually become more and more important in the general level of public economic activity in Western nations, To an increasing extent, macroeconomic management implies that the economic activity of subcentral governments is taken into account. But how can central governments coordinate the economic activity of numerous subcentral governments? What kind of intergovernmental arrangement is necessary? The author argues that fiscal federalism, the traditional approach to this problem, cannot answer these questions satisfactorily. The focus of fiscal federalism is on economic incentives in intergovernmental relations. The author argues that this is not sufficient. Fiscal federalism must be supplemented by a focus on political methods of influence. An analysis of Scandinavian and US ways of involving subcentral governments in macroeconomic management shows that the role played by subcentral government associations is crucial in the effectiveness of macroeconomic management.

The US Allowance Trading Program, which is an emission-trading program for sulfur dioxide, was put into effect on 1 January 1995. It is the first comprehensive attempt in US air-quality policy to practice the idea of emission trading. More than two years after its implementation, the allowance market offers the unique opportunity of evaluating the efficiency of tradeable-permit markets on a practical basis, rather than a solely theoretical one. The author analyzes the recent developments in the allowance-trading market and alternative ‘explanations’ used in attempts to explain low trading activity and low allowance prices. The author concludes that the present allowance price will prove to be equal to the abatement costs; the allowance-trading program is not only ecologically effective but is also economically efficient; and it plays an important role in the development of future tradeable-permits markets.

An assessment is provided of the extent to which industrial development policy and manufacturing firms in Ireland have embraced the four principles of the ‘New Competition’ outlined by Professor Michael Best. Comparisons with Germany arc made throughout the paper. A functional analysis of industrial development spending in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland suggests that less than a tenth of all expenditure is targeted at improving sectoral competitiveness. Less than 2% is aimed directly at developing collaboration and cooperation between firms, The remainder is counterstrategic, grant aiding the development of individual firms. Although plants in Ireland are found to have more extensive network linkages than those in Germany, these were predominantly between companies which were part of the same group rather than collaborative relationships between independent plants. The limited information available suggests that the production operations of manufacturing plants in Ireland are less flexible than those of German plants. In terms of product development, plants in Ireland had more multifunctional involvement and less functional demarcation than plants in Germany. Plants in Ireland also had similar product-quality aspirations to their German counterparts. Political and operational difficulties are likely to arise in the adoption of a more strategic industrial policy. Firms in Ireland may also be constrained by available human and financial resources in their attempts to embrace the principles of the New Competition.