THIRD WORLD URBANIZATION AND AMERICAN FOREIGN AID POLICY: DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE IN THE 1990s

Over the next decade, the demographic and economic characteristics of countries to which the United States government provides technical and financial assistance for economic development will change substantially. Rapid urban population growth, the expanding role of cities and towns in national economies, continued migration of population from rural to urban areas, explosive growth in the size of the labor force, and shifts in the occupations of the labor force from agriculture to manufacturing and ser- vices will require a reorientation of American development assistance. Yet, program objectives and budget allocations of the U.S. foreign aid program fail to reflect these changes in the characteristics of its clientele. The US. Agency for International Development lacks an overt strategy for coping with urbanization in developing nations. Without an urban strategy, the American foreign aid program is likely to incur increasing opportunity costs and fail to address critical problems arising from fundamental shifts in the economic and social structure of developing countries.     

AMERICAN STATES AND THE INDUSTRIAL POLICY DEBATE

The current popular debate over industrial policy tends to be Indifferent to the possible relevance of economic policies in American states. The states are not only very active in this arena through their Industrial and economic development efforts, but also have untapped potential for influencing business decisions. As an integral part of the Amerlcan economic policy arena, states cannot and should not be ignored by industrial policy advocates. Some constitutional, policy, and programmatlc implications of this point are briefly discussed.     

EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING POLICY AND AMERICAN IDEAS: OLD PROBLEMS AND EMERGING PROGRAMS

The federal government has, relative to other areas of social welfare program activity, been especially slow in the development of employment and training policy. The reasons for this can be found in terms of an understanding of the most basic American political and economic ideas. The history of federal initiatives in employment and training policy is traced briefly and the impact of certain American political ideas on this pattern of development is analyzed. Particular attention is given to the issues of coordinating of employment and training programs and the increased role of the state and private sector in designing and managing such programs. It is suggested that in light of certain historic American political patterns, there might be costs to moving in commonly sought after ways that are not readily evident.