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CONVENTIONAL APPROACHES TO VARIATION IN OCCUPATIONAL INJURY RATES IN THE UNITED STATES REST FOR THE MOST PART ON NEOCLASSICAL AND RATIONAL-CHOICE ASSUMPTIONS THAT OBSCURE THE FACT THAT INJURY RATES ARE POLITICAL PHENOMENA. THIS PAPER DEVELOPS AN ALTERNATIVE MODEL THAT EXPLAINS INJURY RATES IN THE CONTEXT OF THE POLITICS OF CAPITAL RELOCATION AND STATE-ACCUMULATION STRATEGIES. IT PRODUCES STATISTICAL EVIDENCE THAT THE FREQUENCY OF REPORTED INJURY CASES AND THE PROPORTION OF WORK TIME LOST TO INJURY ARE LOWEST IN STATES, ESPECIALLY IN THE SOUTH, WHERE THE INDUSTRIAL RATE OF EXPLOITATION IS HIGHEST, WHERE WELFARE STATE PROVISION IS LEAST ADEQUATE, WHERE THE CHOICE OF CASE PHYSICIAN IS LEGALLY PLACED IN THE HANDS OF THE EMPLOYER OF THE STATE RATHER THEN THE INJURED WORKER, AND WHERE THE PERCENTAGE OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN THE STATE POPULATION IS HIGH. A COMPENSATION PAYMENT VARIABLE USUALLY ASSOCIATED WITH RATIONAL-CHOICE ARGUMENTS ALSO APPEARS IN THESE EXPLANATIONS, BUT THE STATISTICAL RESULTS ARE NOT OBVIOUSLY INCONSISTENT WITH THE ALTERNATIVE THEORETICAL APPROACH. IF RATIONAL INDIVIDUAL CALCULATION PLAYS A ROLE IN EITHER THE FREQUENCY OF INJURY CASES OR THE PROPORTION OF WORK TIME LOST, IT DOES SO WITHIN CLEAR CLASS, RACE AND STATE POLICY CONSTRAINTS.

Cover -- Half Title Page -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Original Title Page -- Contents -- Tables and Appendices -- Illustrations -- Foreword -- Introduction -- Acknowledgements -- Chapter One Perspective on Regional Planning in Britain -- Chapter Two Regional trends in employment growth -- Chapter Three The regional manufacturing structure -- Chapter Four Service industries in towns -- Chapter Five Employment and the socio-economic character of towns -- Chapter Six The demand and supply of labour -- Chapter Seven Employment location and planning policy -- Subject index -- Index of towns

In this paper we critically review the applicability of the dominant paradigm of international production theory, internalisation theory, and the eclectic paradigm, concluding that they are of very limited utility in analysing the process of internationalisation by business service firms. The principal aim is to conceptualise the influence of three key dimensions of business service activity on internationalisation: the external relations and patterns of interfirm networking adopted by business service firms; their close relationships with clients; and the significance of these relationships in home-region markets, affording regional externalities which also strongly influence their propensity to export. Evidence from Scotland and the South East of England shows a regional influence on the mode of foreign-market entry, although few firms explicitly choose particular foreign markets to enter. The most common entry mechanism involves responding to particular orders. Similarly, the entry-mode decisions of 70% of the firms were made without consideration of any alternative modes. The evident importance of interfirm, including client corporate networks, and the influence of regional conditions upon internationalisation, leads to a conclusion in which we draw on a recent socially based interpretation of business behaviour.

The growing prominence of service activities in the advanced economies poses a substantial challenge for studies of urban and regional development. This paper is a review of different approaches to the analysis of service growth. Studies directed specifically at the development of producer or information services have contributed a valuable sense of the way in which services are leading economic change. They are, however, constrained by the predominantly sectoral nature of their approach, which plays down the diverse character of services and the intimate links between services and other sectors. The conceptualisation of structural change is also too narrow, viewed almost solely through the lens of changes in the service sector. In contrast, a number of Marxist-inspired analyses provide a broader interpretation of the character of structural change, emphasising the role of services in changing phases of capitalist development. They also provide a more sophisticated analysis of the diverse character of services and the types of development they provide. However, they have generally so far been constrained by the limited and derivative role given to services in the dynamics of the economy. The authors argue for a 'service-informed' view of structural change which contains a broad analysis of the dynamics of the advanced economies and a sense of the significance of individual service activities in change.

The growth of business services in the United Kingdom during the 1980s is reviewed, and especially the role of small firms. Reports the results of an intensive questionnaire survey, undertaken in 1991, of a sample of small management consultancy and market research companies in three areas; inner London, the outer south east, and north west England. In interpreting the demand and supply characteristics of these firms, emphasis is placed on their interactions with the internal labour market strategies of predominantly large client organisations. Generally, the sample firms offer consultancy and marketing expertise which such clients do not provide from their own skill resources. Their founders were also often originally employees of such organisations, especially outside London. Regional economic and social characteristics mould the activities of these firms, even though many engage in a significant degree of interregional trade. The markets served, types of specialisation, the originating process, and the ages of founders show marked differences between the two sectors and the three areas.

In this paper the work of geographers, economists, and management scientists in studying interregional and international expansion by service companies is reviewed. A critique is presented of some of the fundamental methodological problems inherent in analysing foreign-market entry-mode choice. These are particularly apparent when studying the process of business service-sector internationalisation. Issues discussed include inconsistencies in the definition of which entry decision to analyse; the level of aggregation to adopt when modelling mode choice; mode choice and cooperative organisational networks; different approaches to measuring cultural distance and country risk; and the methodologies used to develop scales to represent the constructs relevant to internationalisation.