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This paper reviews a theoretical controversy concerning the aggregative and structural explanations of the high rates of unemployment recently experienced in the United States and Canada. The paper examines alternative definitions and theories of structural unemployment.Much of the analysis of structural unemployment has been concerned with : (a) the long recognized differences between unemployment rates by occupation, by region, etc. (structural differentials); (b) whether there have occurred changes in these unemployment rate differentials (See footnote 1 of the text for references to Canadian studies of this type). The contributions of Berman, Lipsey, Reder and Kalachek to the debate are reviewed ( see footnote 7, 8, 9 and 10 for references to these papers).Berman and Lipsey have presented very similar policy type definitions of structural unemployment which view it basically as a residual of unemployment which can be removed by labour market adjustment policies, some of which are profitable in terms of financial costs and benefits while others commend themselves for non pecuniary reasons (see sections Ci and Cii of the paper).The previously mentioned authors (especially Lipsey) have established to the author's satisfaction that as long as we agree that there is some deficient-demand unemployment in the economy we can tell nothing from the structure of the existing unemployed or of the newly unemployed concerning the validity of the structural hypothesis. This is so because structural change makes many of the existing unemployed not reemployable, a fact which can be discovered only by trying demand expansion and not by analysis of the existing stock of the unemployed.In other words, analysis of the existing stock of unemployment cannot help to ascertain whether structural changes have occurred in the composition of unemployment because the structure of the unemployed will change, and differ from the structure of the employed, after demand falls, as well as after a « readjusting layoff » due to technological changes (see section Dii).The study closes with an analysis of reasons why non-selective and selective public policies should be applied simultaneously and continuously in dealing with unemployment, a conclusion not in accordance with that derived from Lipsey's model. In short, the author believes that the use of selective policies will change the trade-off between inflation and unemployment such that when applied with non-selective policies, it will be possible for the economy to attain « non-inflationary » full employment and a more equitable and efficient distribution of employment opportunities.

More than 35 years ago, American political scientist Peter J. Katzenstein observed that in the context of major economic and commercial transformations, “small states” generally adapt by adopting or refining interventionist industrial policies and “neo-corporatist” strategies that allow for significant concertation between political, economic and social players. In this article, I take up Katzenstein's thesis by examining the case of Quebec through the prism of a particularly strategic sector: entrepreneurial finance. I begin by discussing the current resurgence of “economic nationalism” in industrialized countries. This, in turn, allows for a better understanding of what characterizes Quebec's approach in this context based on its particular financial ecosystem and a neo-corporatist economic model, in line with the reasoning carved out by Katzenstein. I explain how the strong intervention of the Quebec state in the entrepreneurial finance sector is linked to Quebec's vulnerabilities as a “small nation,” and how this translates into an economic nationalism inducing strong preferences for channelling capital into strategic sectors, for the safeguarding of national ownership of key companies and, more recently, for industrial autonomy.

Keywords: néo-corporatisme, interventionnisme, investissement, capital, développement, Québec, industrie, nationalisme, neo-corporatism, interventionism, investment, capital, development, Quebec, industry, nationalism

AbstractThis article compiles data on the formal economy of the region of Nunavik, in the North of Quebec, covering a period of twenty years. It allows to verify whether the regional economy maintains, or intensifies, its course for the period studied with regard to the following characteristics : industrial structure dominated by public administration ; major role of the wage-earning class ; massive imports of finished products and intermediate goods ; and the variable importance of the mining sector. The study also identifies certain less well-known trends, namely : policies aiming to reduce the deficits and public debt have had a greater impact on Nunavik than on Quebec as a whole; asymmetric remuneration, meaning that the incomes of Aboriginals are always lower than their proportion in the workforce ; and regional and local governments that play an increasing role in the provision of services, yet which is not necessarily reflected in the political power they exercise. The authors conclude that, even though decision-making autonomy can be increased by a new form of regional government, the main current driving forces, i.e., neo-liberal politics and global markets, will nevertheless continue to influence the regional economy, which is intimately linked to that of the rest of Quebec and the world.

AbstractThe goal of this article is to show how the public policies implemented in the 1980s in Belgium allowed the unemployed older than 50 to escape the infernal spiral of self-criticism and identity crisis provoked by their unemployment. The creation of the status of “older unemployed” in 1986 provided a form of collective recognition of the virtual impossibility of them returning to the labour market. Such policies of early retirement are no longer on the agenda, however. The European Union insists that the employment rate must rise, in particular to fight the effects of population aging and to guarantee the stability of pension regimes and health care systems. Belgian policies have also been reversed. Thus, since 1999 several reforms have tightened the conditions for early retirement. This change in the mode of regulation ends the previous equilibrium among public authorities, older unemployed and employers.

This article analyses the transition from a very centralised state to a system of local governance that occurred in France during the second half of the XXth century in the field of water management. It clarifies further the situation of governance and characterises the resulting reorganisation of the public action. Then it points out various levels of public action and analyses their interactions in the case study of the Drôme River. It therefore discusses the role of some local autonomous places that produce public action. It ends by observing how and whether environmental policies and economic development can be integrated and at what scales.

Keywords: gouvernance, action publique, SAGE, schéma d'aménagement et de gestion des eaux, gestion de l'eau, France, governance, public action, master plan for water management, SAGE, water management, France