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A growing trend in US rural (and urban) development policy is the formation of flexible manufacturing networks, interlinked firms patterned after European industrial districts in Denmark and Italy. This paper examines the experience of several such networks in the United States, in rural and in urban areas, in order to evaluate their performance and effects on member firms. Detailed interviews with firms in such networks indicate that networks are most useful for firms and very small firms (micro-enterprises). The networks as institutions promote inter-firm interaction and collective learning in their regions. In addition, the networks provide services to member firms. It appears that networks which become embedded in their region tend to provide more for their member firms than do less well-integrated networks.Embeddedness is indicated by the involvement and financial (and other) support or local institutions and of influential residents, especially community entrepreneurs. In only a few regions where no network operates, firms are able nearly to substitute for a network by means of active informal networking on their own with firms from outside the locality. In most regions, some public-policy « push » seems to be needed to foster networking among firms in the local area.

Keywords: Réseau, PME, Fabrication, Coopération, Politique locale, États-Unis

For this special theme issue, the editors ask, “the creation of human-centred workplaces or workers running out of breath?” To answer this question, we chose to discuss the challenges related to work and employment over the next decade with the arrival of the industrial revolution 4.0, also known as Industry 4.0. We have the goal of answering the following question: “And what if Industry 4.0 proves to be a period where the pendulum swings back in favour of workers in the 21st century?” Our discussion of this question is organized around three challenges related to the management of human resources: the demographic reality, the need for investment and training, and, at the heart of this paper, that the political climate will likely influence national, regional, and local governance. This governance will affect workplace organization, in turn impacting people and their relationship to work. The ability of workers and their representatives to act requires a shared diagnosis of the nature of problems and solutions. All that will be negotiated, as much as with employers as with the various political entities, will depend on the willingness of each of the parties to be able to listen to and respect each other.

Keywords: Révolution 4.0, portrait générationnel, disparité, marché du travail, syndicat

The idea of regulating pollutions by means of tradable emission permits on a competitive market was developed for the first time by Dales in 1968. The question of the citizens' participation on these markets received little attention in the economic literature. However, people are allowed to buy emission permits and can therefore reduce the level of pollution by removing them from the market. From a practical viewpoint, the citizen's preferences are not taken into account neither in the elaboration nor in the functioning of pollution permits markets. However, such a situation does not comply with both the democratic values and the prevailing economic principles. This article aims to discuss the legitimacy of a participation of the citizens to a pollution permits market by introducing both the economic efficiency and the ethical dimension. As the problem of free riding is fundamental when the citizen participation takes place, we show that it can be partly solved by funding the citizen demand. In addition, it seems that the free riding behaviour is overestimated by theoretical economics as experimental economics applied to the game of the public good shows. In addition, the ethical stakes associated to the opening of the pollution markets permits to the citizens are analyzed. An ethics based on the freedom and the sovereignty of the citizens commands us to authorize the participation of the citizens to these markets. This point is finally discussed towards the cumulative pollutions and towards the intergenerational dimension of the equity.

Keywords: Équité, Altruisme, bien public, efficacité économique, éthique, participation du citoyen, permis d'émissions négociables, justice intergénérationnelle, pollutions cumulatives, passager clandestin, equity, altruism, public good, economic efficiency, ethics, tradable emission permits, citizen participation, intergenerational justice, free rider, cumulative pollutions

Appropriate Dispute Resolution [ADR] methods are part of an evolution in our justice systems towards greater individual involvement. The Quebec Code of Civil Procedure, which has been in effect since January 1, 2016, encourages individuals to participate in resolving their own disputes and litigation. The concept of “participatory justice” heralded such a cultural shift long before the Code came into effect. This article aims to examine whether these ADR processes foster a form of “citizen participation” within the justice realm. The concept of participation is indeed at the heart of the development of ADRs. Over time, and with various actors involved in shaping these processes, diverse conceptions of participation have emerged, some deviating significantly from the citizen logic. After distinguishing between them, we propose exploring the extent to which research on citizen participation prompts a critical view of participative justice, notably by examining the ability of individuals to participate in resolving their disputes as well as questioning the growing instrumentalization of ADRs.