Social inequalities without class cleavages in Latin America’s neoliberal era

Social inequalities have deepened in Latin America over the past several decades, yet an erosion of class cleavages has occurred in the political arena. During the era of import-substitution industrialization (ISI), “stratified” cleavage structures based on class distinctions emerged in a subset of Latin American countries where party systems were reconfigured by the rise of a mass-based, labor-mobilizing party. These nations typically experienced more severe economic crises during the transition from ISI to neoliberalism than nations that retained elitist party systems with “segmented,” cross-class cleavage structures. They also experienced greater political upheaval, as neoliberal critical junctures produced an erosion of stratified cleavages along their structural, organizational, and cultural dimensions in the labor-mobilizing cases, while leaving the segmented cleavages of elitist systems relatively unscathed. The Latin American experience differs from that of Europe, where strong labor movements and labor-backed parties were associated with superior economic performance during periods of economic adjustment. It also challenges Duverger's notion of an organizational “contagion from the Left,” as the dramatic weakening of labor movements and the shift away from mass-based party organizations have caused party systems to converge on elitist organizational models during the neoliberal era.     

Improving the quality and quantity of whole blood supply: limits to voluntary arrangements

The inadvertent transmission of AIDS virus through contaminated whole blood has shaken the viability of the American voluntary blood supply system. For the first time since the voluntary donor system replaced the commercial blood system, there are widespread doubts about the ability of blood suppliers to meet the nation's increasing health care demands. This paper presents a framework for analyzing blood collection. First, we critique the existing literature on blood collection, arguing that its focus on donor motivation is difficult to integrate with policy analysis. We then present a specific model of the individual's decision to donate blood as a comparison of the costs and benefits of donating. The current system of collecting whole blood relies on donors receiving only altruistic benefits. We explore the limits of this approach to dealing with the quantity and quality problems presented by the AIDS virus. Alternative approaches....     

America's best hospitals. Exclusive survey

To identify the nation's best hospitals, U.S. news surveyed in 12 specialties from aids to urology. The survey yielded 57 different hospitals, many of which appear on more than one of the 12 specialty lists. The following hospitals, all of which found their way onto at least four of the lists, represent the cream of America's medical institutions.